


The Center of the Universe

by chenjisthisandthat



Series: Dream Among the Stars [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 3/8 Wrench, A Fair Bit of Magic, A Whole Lot of Planet Hopping, Asteroid Fields!, Berevian! Chenle, Betrayals haha, But they're each other's idiots, Cealeon! Renjun, Chenji are Idiots, Chenle Does Not Know Self-Care, Epocian! Jaemin, Friends to Lovers, He's Half-Berevian, Human! Jeno, Jisung Ship Repair Boy!, Jisung has a Favorite Wrench, Lizard Man! Mark, Lots of Cool Planets, Luxtros, M/M, Mentions of Death, Minor Character Death, Minor panic attacks, Moderate Violence, Nadrian! Donghyuck, Resistance, Space Chases!, Space Empire!, Space Light Swords/Knives/Axes!, Space Markets!, Space Pirates!, Space Surgeon! Renjun, Space fic, Spaceships!, Training with Light Swords, War, You'll learn what those names mean ;), bullet wounds, but it's fine, here it is, idiots to lovers, lots of emotion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:13:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 55,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25836298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chenjisthisandthat/pseuds/chenjisthisandthat
Summary: “Fuck!” Chenle shouts from inside the ship.“Jisung,” Chenle comes tumbling from the ship. “We need to go. Now.” His tone is urgent, and when Jisung makes eye contact with him he sees fear. “Grab your toolbox and come with me, we need to leave.”Jisung picks up his toolbox, look at him in confusion.“Chenle, what are you talking about? I can’t just leave.”“There’s no time to explain.” Chenle walks down the ramp and grabs Jisung’s wrist, pulling him onto the ship.* * *Alternatively: Jisung gets dragged into a universe much larger than his small town on Vesnia. One with war and pirates, betrayals and love. Of strange fruits and stranger people, prison breaks and resistances.But if one thing remains the same, it's Chenle who's by his side.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno, Mark Lee/Na Jaemin, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Series: Dream Among the Stars [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874707
Comments: 81
Kudos: 127





	1. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok first off.
> 
> HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to Mel! For being my beta and being half the reason this fic even exists. I also have to thank all of WON for helping in all sorts of ways from plot points to planet names. Love you guys <3
> 
> Secondly. Here it is! Space fic is here! I've spent months on this and I hope you all love it just as much as I do :,) Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Let's get this show on the road!

Jisung turns the wrench in his hand. Still not shiny enough. He grabs the polishing spray, spritzing the object again and rubbing at it with the cloth in his hand. 

He raises it, holding it up to the small window of his workshop. 

Much better. 

He moves onto his second wrench. This one is his favorite. It’s a ⅜ wrench, and probably the one he uses least often. Despite the bolts on most of the ships being far too large for this wrench, he has a soft spot for it. It’s kinda cute. 

He takes the bottle in hand again, taking care to polish the wrench perfectly. 

His tools always get immeasurably greasy and oily while he works. He has to spend his free time once a week cleaning them up, so they last longer. 

As profitable as fixing ships is, Jisung doesn’t quite make enough to be buying new tools every year. And besides, he much prefers to work with clean tools than dirty ones. 

That being said, he almost always ends up with a smudge of oil on his cheek. And his arms get rather dirty as well. 

Jisung’s poor shower drain. 

His peaceful cleaning is interrupted by a loud crash outside his workshop. 

Fuck. Not again. 

Jisung slips his wrench in his pocket and rushes outside to see the front half of a medium sized, silver, red and yellow ship surrounded by splinters of the shop’s ceiling. 

“Zhong Chenle! Are you fucking kidding me!” Jisung shouts at the ship, gesturing wildly. 

He facepalms. The bottom of the ship opens up. An orange-haired boy walks down the ramp. 

“Sorry about your roof, Sung,” he says brightly. 

Jisung can only motion to his roof. 

“Chenle, I  _ just _ fixed it,” he whines. Chenle just laughs, walking over to pinch his cheek and ruffle his pink hair. 

“It’s fine, Sungie. I’ll help you fix it this time.” 

Jisung rolls his eyes. “That’s what you said the last 5 times. Is it that hard to just land on the giant landing pad?” He throws his arm out towards a large, concrete slab with a giant red X painted in the center. 

It literally has been 5 times. Despite being the critically acclaimed pilot Chenle swears he is, he almost always manages to take out a chunk of Jisung’s garage’s roof, where his droids hang out. At some point Jisung had to paint a line of the floor that no droids could cross, so they wouldn't become a casualty of Chenle’s reckless flying. 

Despite all this, Chenle is somehow Jisung’s favorite customer. Every time he sees him, his heart skips a beat and his day gets a little bit brighter. Which is saying something considering his planet sees 3 suns. 

“Sorry, Sungie. My right thruster was out, I couldn’t steer properly.” 

Jisung places a hand on his hip. “And how did that happen?” he deadpans. 

Chenle has the audacity to laugh. “I got hit by an asteroid.” 

Good god. How is he so cute yet so dumb? 

“You amaze me,” Jisung mutters, grabbing his secondary toolbox from his work bench and walking over to Chenle’s ship.

“Thanks!” Chenle chirps. 

“So, the right thruster?” 

“And the navigator, and the left shooter.” 

Jisung gives him an exasperated look, to which Chenle gives an innocent smile, one that makes Jisung’s heart rate quicken. 

Jisung sighs. “Let’s go.” He walks over to the back of the ship. 

Sure enough, the right thruster is completely smashed, and the part will have to be replaced. 

Lucky for Chenle, after his first couple visits—and definitely not because Jisung has a crush—Jisung has started keeping spares of the parts for Chenle’s ship model. 

He sends Chenle to the back room to grab the part, the other already familiar with Jisung’s shop, having spent the night once or twice. He’s a frequent visitor. 

If Jisung’s being honest, he isn’t quite sure why Chenle goes to his shop when there are other, much more skilled, and much quicker repair shops in the galaxy. But Jisung isn’t complaining. As he said before, Chenle is his favorite customer. 

Chenle returns after a couple minutes, just as Jisung’s managed to remove the old covering. Jisung takes the new one from him, shoving it into position then welding the pieces of metal together. Chenle watches, telling Jisung about the new places he visited. 

“Oh yeah! I brought you something,” Chenle says excitedly, running into his ship. 

Jisung takes a step back from his work, wiping sweat from his brow. The covering that protects the thruster is now back on and no longer covering the thruster itself, so it should be able to work just fine. 

“Fuck!” Chenle shouts from inside the ship. 

“Jisung.” Chenle comes tumbling from the ship. “We need to go. Now.” His tone is urgent, and when Jisung makes eye contact with him, he sees fear. “Grab your toolbox and come with me, we need to leave.”

Jisung picks up his toolbox, looks at him in confusion.

“Chenle, what are you talking about? I can’t just leave.”

“There’s no time to explain.” Chenle walks down the ramp and grabs Jisung’s wrist, pulling him onto the ship.

Jisung stumbles after him.

“Chenle—” he trips over a bump in the ramp. 

Chenle keeps pulling him along.

  
  


“Chenle, wait!” Jisung finally cries, digging his heels into the ground of the ramp.

“I can’t just leave my shop, my droids I, I can’t just leave it all,” he looks at Chenle pathetically. The grip around Jisung’s wrist only tightens.

As if on cue, Jisung’s favorite droid rolls up to him, beeping curiously.

“Go stay with your friends. All of you play dead.” Chenle orders. The droid obeys, rolling over to the others.

Chenle turns back to Jisung, eyes desperate.

“Jisungie,  _ please _ , I need you to trust me. Please.”

Tears welling in his eyes, Jisung lets out a sigh.

“Fine,” he concedes. Chenle’s posture relaxes. He quickly pulls Jisung up the rest of the ramp, pressing the button at the top and closing up the ship.

Jisung immediately runs over to the window. He left his primary toolbox behind, and so much else. All of his droids are looking around, confused.

Jisung wants to cry.

“Jisung,” Chenle calls. Jisung turns, walking over to where he heard his voice.

Chenle is sitting in the pilot’s seat, seatbelt on and hands on the steering device. 

“Take a seat and put on the helmet please,” he asks.

Jisung does as he says, fastening his seatbelt and fits the helmet on his head. 

“Chenle, you put on your helmet too.” 

“Jisung, you know I don’t fly with a helmet,” Chenle says, shifting the gear to his right. The spaceship rumbles as it lifts into the air. 

“I don’t care, just put on your helmet.” 

“I don’t need a helmet, I—”

“Just put on the helmet!” 

“Fine!” Chenle takes the helmet off the hook on the wall and shoves it onto his head. Jisung tries to ignore how cute he looks while angry. 

“Now, can you please tell me why you just dragged me out of my shop?” Jisung asks desperately. Chenle’s face immediately darkens. 

He doesn’t respond. Chenle shifts gears, moving them away from Jisung’s shop. 

He flies away from the town for a couple minutes, then turns the ship around, so Jisung can look down on his hometown. 

That’s when Jisung sees it. Black and red tanks roll through the desert, approaching his town. 

“Chenle, what is that?” Jisung asks, terrified. 

“The Välde,” Chenle says. A shot fires from one of the cannons. Jisung watches in horror as a small house goes up in flames. 

“What?”

Chenle gulps, closing his eyes. Jisung wants to as well, but he can’t look away from the terror being reigned on his town. 

“Let’s get somewhere safe, then I’ll explain.” 

And with that, Chenle turns the ship around, and speeds off into space. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is chapter 1! I hope you enjoyed, I hope you have lots of questions, and I hope you stick with this fic!! Lots of love <3 Stay safe.  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


	2. Yororo's Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Come on,” Chenle says, pulling them up. They make their way out of the trolley. Jisung’s breath is taken away as he finds himself in the center of the largest marketplace he’s ever seen. 
> 
> There are shops in every direction, people of different species and kinds, speaking different languages. There are all sorts of creatures and all sorts of things being sold. One market sells fluffy animals Jisung has never seen in his life; another market sells ornate jewelry. 
> 
> It’s incredible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is mild panic near the end! Just a warning for those who need it.

“Jisung, I know you want answers, but—”

“You said you’d tell me!”

Chenle sighs. They’ve been travelling for a while now, and Jisung hates it. He hates it. 

Sure, it’s cool being among the stars and in space and flying is awesome, but Jisung would much rather have both feet on the ground with his droids and his workshop. 

His parents’ workshop. The last thing he has to remember them by. And now he’s left it behind. 

“Jisung, I promise I’ll explain, but without that left shooter we’re painfully exposed and I can’t risk anything now that you’re on board with me.” 

“Fine,” Jisung huffs. He unlatches his seatbelt, picks up his toolbox, and walks through the ship down to the left shooter. Luckily, it isn’t a problem with the mechanics. All that’s wrong is some of the wiring. Therefore, Jisung’s able to fix it from inside the ship. 

He takes out his tools, unscrewing the control panel and looking at the wires with his flashlight. Sure enough, it’s a disaster. Jisung ends up spending a good chunk of time just untangling the wires to find exactly where there’s a break in the system. 

He finally finds the broken wires and takes careful time to solder them together, completing the wiring. He places the control panel back on the system, protecting the wiring. 

Just to test it, he fires a blast, watching as a red laser shoots off into space. 

Nice work, Jisung. He pats himself on the back. 

He brings his toolbox back up to the cockpit, where the broken navigator is. 

Chenle is asleep when he gets there, arms up on the dashboard, cheek squished against the metal, his orange hair hanging over his face. He’s taken his helmet off. 

He looks mad cute. 

“Hey, Chenle.” Jisung walks up to the navigator, a funny device on the far right side of the long dashboard. 

Chenle shoots up, looking around quickly. His right hand flies to his pocket, on guard. 

“Lele, it’s just me,” Jisung says before Chenle reacts any further. 

Chenle relaxes. “Oh, hi, Jisungie.” He brushes the orange hair from his eyes. Blinking away sleep, Chenle smiles at Jisung. 

“How on earth did you manage to break the shooter how you did?” Jisung asks. It was as if someone had shot directly into where the shooter shoots. 

Chenle shrugs. “No idea.” He puts his legs up on the dashboard, yawning loudly. 

Jisung takes a look at the navigator, only to find it’s going completely haywire. He takes off the casing to get a closer look, and finds one of the small, integral magnets is missing. 

Jisung frowns. “Chenle, I don’t have the part this needs.” 

Chenle turns in his seat, standing to walk over to Jisung. 

He throws his arm around Jisung’s shoulder, looking at the device. 

“Huh, I don’t have it either.” 

Jisung gives Chenle a deadpan look. Chenle simply smiles sheepishly. 

“It’s okay, Sungie. This is a great opportunity for you to expand your view of the galaxy!” Chenle exclaims. He hops back into his pilot seat and motions for Jisung to sit as well. 

Jisung buckles himself in. He places his helmet on and watches as Chenle puts his own on, too. 

“We’ll pick up some airbags, too,” Chenle says. 

Jisung looks at him. “You’ve never accepted them in the past. I’ve been trying to get you to put airbags in your ship for two years!” 

Chenle looks at him from the side. “Well, now I have precious cargo.” He winks. 

Jisung’s cheeks burn. 

“Hold on tight, Jisungie!” Chenle says loudly, pulling a lever to his left all the way down. 

Within seconds, they go from casually floating along to traveling at the speed of light. Jisung slams back into his chair, and he worries if he wasn’t seatbelted in, he’d fly out. 

Just as fast as it started, it stops. Jisung flies forward, caught by his seatbelt and by Chenle’s arm darting across his chest. 

Chenle smiles at him. “That wasn’t bad for your first time in hyperspace, you didn’t even throw up!” 

Jisung just stares, unable to form any coherent thoughts. 

“Though you do look a little pale,” Chenle says, reaching up to pat Jisung’s cheek. 

Jisung continues to just stare, his mind finally forming a thought. 

Chenle’s cute. 

Jisung wants to smack himself. Of all the coherent thoughts he could form, that’s the first one? 

They’ve ended up in front of a large, reddish brown planet, full of large craters. Chenle enters the planet’s atmosphere slowly. He flies towards the largest of the craters. And as they get closer, Jisung sees that in the crater is a bustling marketplace. 

They land near the shipyard just on the edge of the crater. Jisung isn’t sure how they’re going to get into the crater, but he doesn’t question it. 

Chenle lands neatly in his spot, pressing a button to set down the wheels. The ship settles with a slight bounce. 

“Oh, so you can land neatly here but not in my shop?” Jisung snarks, unbuckling his seatbelt. 

Chenle scoffs, shoving him gently when they stand. 

“That’s because my ship was damaged,” Chenle refutes. 

“That’s because my ship was damaged,” Jisung mocks, lifting his tone. 

Chenle laughs,. He pushes Jisung again as they walk out of the ship. 

When they reach the bottom of the ramp, Chenle presses the panel at the bottom of the ship to close the ramp behind them. 

Chenle slips his hand into Jisung’s. Jisung’s cheeks flush. He looks down at their hands. 

“Stick close to me, Ji, and try to avoid making eye contact with people.” 

Jisung nods, gulping. 

Chenle leads them through the shipyard, and into a small building. There’s a counter inside, and a man with large, purple ears standing behind it. 

“Hey, Jinyoung!” Chenle greets cheerfully. 

“Hey, Chenle, hey, Chenle’s friend,” the man says. Jisung waves, before Chenle nudges him in the arm. 

“It’s okay, this is Jinyoung, he’s nice.” Jisung raises his head. Jinyoung has kind, purple eyes. 

“Hello, I’m Jisung.” He sticks a hand out. Jinyoung shakes it. The other man has a firm grip. 

“Good luck in there, kid, try not to get eaten alive,” Jinyoung says, smiling. 

Jisung’s eyes widen. A chill goes down his spine. 

“Jinyoung! You’re scaring him,” Chenle chides from next to him. He squeezes Jisung’s hand. 

Jinyoung lets out a barking laugh. 

“Alright, you two, trolley’s here.” Jinyoung presses a button on the counter, and the door to their left opens up. 

“See you, Jinyoung.” Chenle pulls Jisung to the door. 

They end up at tracks. They’re standing on a platform, with tracks in front of them. Down the platform to the right is a large, bus like vehicle. On top of the vehicle is a sort of hook, hooked over a wrought iron rope. 

“Come on, we’ll miss it,” Chenle says, pulling him over to the trolley, as Jinyoung called it. 

“Watch your step,” Chenle says, taking a step over the gap between the platform and the trolley. Jisung follows, gripping Chenle’s hand tightly as he takes a large step over the gap, a slight jump. He stumbles when he lands in the trolley. Chenle’s hand lands on his waist to steady him. 

Jisung smiles sheepishly. “Thanks, Chenle.” 

Chenle gives him a warm smile. “You’re welcome. Let’s sit down.” 

They take a seat by the door, and Jisung curiously looks around the trolley. 

There are all sorts of strange people and aliens sitting around the trolley. There’s one person with a large beige trunk, another with three eyes across their face and two blue antennae on either side of their head. Jisung continues to observe when he feels a chill travel down his spine. A large, one-eyed man with a scar across his face stares directly at him. Immediately, Jisung looks away, instinctively squeezing Chenle’s hand as he looks at the ground. 

“Jisung?” Chenle asks curiously. 

Jisung just shakes his head, playing with Chenle’s fingers. Chenle pulls a pair of sunglasses from his jacket pocket, then sits up straight. If Jisung were to guess, he would assume Chenle is looking around the carriage, taking advantage of his sunglasses to avoid contact. 

After a couple seconds, Chenle turns and whispers in his ear. 

“Just stay close to me and you’ll be fine,” he reassures. Jisung nods. 

The trolley comes to a halting stop after about five minutes. 

“Come on,” Chenle says, pulling them up. They make their way out of the trolley. Jisung’s breath is taken away as he finds himself in the center of the largest marketplace he’s ever seen. 

There are shops in every direction, people of different species and kinds, speaking different languages. There are all sorts of creatures and all sorts of things being sold. One market sells fluffy animals Jisung has never seen in his life; another market sells ornate jewelry. 

It’s incredible. 

Chenle quite literally pulls him out of his stupor, tugging him off the platform and down one of the streets of the marketplace. 

“Remember, try not to make eye contact with people,” Chenle says, pulling Jisung down by his collar so he can whisper to him. 

Jisung nods, focusing on looking at people’s legs and below. 

They walk for a couple minutes before Chenle stops. 

“In here.” Jisung follows him into a market stall. 

The market stall is rather nice, full of fresh fruits and vegetables like Jisung has never seen. They’re nothing like the prickly pears or dry leaf plants in his hometown. This stuff looks lucious with flavor and water. 

“Want to try something?” A voice says from next to him. Jisung jumps, looking up before he can stop himself. 

He finds himself making eye contact with warm, brown eyes. Jisung feels himself relax slightly at the sight of another human. The man has light brown hair, and a warm smile. 

“Kun!” Chenle exclaims, running to give the man a hug. The man, despite being shorter than Chenle, holds him like Chenle’s his child, cradling his head against his shoulder. 

“Jisung, this is Kun, Kun, this is Jisung. We just came from Vesnia.”

Kun nods, holding out his hand. Jisung takes it. Much like the rest of Kun, his hand is warm and his grip secure. 

“Nice to meet you, Jisung.” He walks over to one of the bushels of fruit, picking up a purple one from the basket and tossing it to Jisung. Jisung catches it, letting go of Chenle’s hand to do so. 

“Try it. It’s a mahavi fruit, they’re from Mahavi.” 

That does make sense. 

Jisung sniffs the fruit cautiously before taking a small bite. The fruit is sweet, sweeter than anything he’s ever tasted. He takes a larger bite. It has a soft, plush texture he can squish gently in his hands. 

“It’s good!” Jisung says. He likes this mahavi fruit. 

“Chenle, why don’t you pick out a couple of your favorites to bring back with you? That way Jisung can try some more?” Kun suggests, handing Chenle a plastic bag. 

Chenle claps excitedly, “Kun, you’re the best!” 

Chenle drags Jisung to the other side of the stall, and Jisung watches as Chenle places a squat orange fruit, a bright purple and yellow fruit, a pink fruit with green stuff sticking off of it, another orange fruit with four leaves on top, a large green vegetable, and a fuzzy brown fruit, and places them all in the bag. Chenle then shoulders off his backpack, and places the bag inside. He takes a couple coins from the small pocket, and hands them to Kun, who accepts them with a smile. 

“It was nice to meet you, Kun,” Jisung says as Chenle pulls him to the exit. 

“Thanks, Kun!” Chenle calls. 

The two walk out into the bustling street again. 

“Now we need to get that part,” Chenle says. He slips his hand into Jisung’s again. 

They walk down the street for a bit, then rounding a corner and continuing to walk, this time along a curved street. 

It’s quite nice, actually, walking along the marketplace with Chenle. There are so many food stalls, with all sorts of cuisine, it smells very good. Jisung is sure there are spices he’s never seen before, much less tasted. 

He and Chenle chat quietly. Chenle tells him stories of some of the crazy people he’s met. All sorts of species and interesting characters. Like the man he met with a six-legged dog, who had three heads, and each one had a different personality. 

Jisung likes his stories. He’s so focused that he doesn’t even notice when a large man steps in front of him, causing Jisung to bump into him. 

Jisung stumbles backwards, looking up at the large man. 

It’s the same man as before, the man with one eye. 

Chenle is quick to pull him aside, out of the man’s way. 

“Grolon, excuse us,” Chenle says, lacing his fingers with Jisung’s. Jisung’s heart is pounding in his chest. 

The other man looks down at them, a forked tongue darting out. 

“I just wanted to say hi to your pretty new friend,” he reaches out a hand, long claws at the end of his fingertips. 

Chenle is in front of Jisung in an instant. His hand is on his jacket pocket. 

“I said, excuse us, we’ll be on our way.” 

The other man doesn’t move, only stepping closer. Instinctively, Jisung takes a step back. 

“I don’t want to cause any trouble, Grolon, but I will if I have to,” Chenle says lowly. He slips his hand into his pocket. Jisung feels like he can barely breathe with anticipation. 

Finally, the other man backs away, slipping back into the crowd. Chenle lets out a breath, as Jisung feels oxygen enter his lungs again. 

Chenle turns to face him. He brings his hands up to cup Jisung’s cheeks. He’s shaking. 

“Are you okay?” Chenle asks, worried. Jisung nods.

“I’m good.” He brings up a hand, making an ‘ok’ sign with his pointer finger and thumb. 

Chenle smiles. 

“Let’s keep going, then.” He drops his hands from Jisung’s face to grab Jisung’s hand yet again, this time immediately lacing their fingers together. 

Luckily, there are no more interruptions as they make their way through the streets. 

Chenle stops them at a rather large stall with a dark red overhang and plenty of tools and devices on display. 

Chenle leads them into the stall. Jisung begins to survey the pieces in awe. 

There are all sorts of different parts and tools that Jisung has never seen before, ones far more advanced than his own. It makes Jisung wonder yet again why Chenle went to his shop instead of other ones. 

Jisung wants nothing more than to fanboy over all of the cool pieces and parts, but he’s starting to get freaked out by this place. He really wants nothing more than to be back at Chenle’s ship. 

Well really he’d like to be home but that isn’t an option so Chenle’s ship it is!

After a couple more minutes of looking, Jisung spots the small magnetic piece they needed. 

“Which one is it?” Chenle asks. Jisung points to it. Chenle picks it up, placing it in his pocket. He’s digging in his backpack for cash when a bright red laser beam shoots right through the gap between Jisung and Chenle, landing on one of the displays at the back of the stall. 

Chenle looks up in an instant. Jisung follows suit and sees 3 men with dark, black armored suits down the street, one with their gun up. Next to them is the man with one eye. 

“Shit!” Chenle curses. 

“Jisung we need to go, now,” he says quickly, throwing his backpack back on his shoulder and grabbing Jisung’s wrist. 

“Wait, but we didn’t p—” he’s cut off by Chenle yanking him out of the stall, weaving them through the crowded streets and back towards the center of the markets. 

Another beam flies past Jisung, just missing his ear. A second one flies past his right side. It grazes Chenle’s upper arm. 

“Chenle!” Jisung shouts, but Chenle doesn’t even flinch. Instead he continues to move through the crowd, yelling “excuse me!” and “sorry!”

They make it to the center just as the trolley takes back off into the sky. 

“Shit!” Chenle curses yet again. They’re both forced to duck as another laser beam is shot towards their heads. 

“To the sides,” Chenle says, pulling Jisung down the street directly under the trolley. 

Jisung follows, albeit confused. Why is Chenle bringing them towards the walls of the crater? 

He finds out his answer pretty soon. They reach the walls and Chenle shoulders off his backpack, searching through the second pocket and pulling out what looks like a grabbling gun. He pulls out a rope as well, handing it to Jisung. 

“Wrap this around you like a harness,” Chenle orders. 

“No fucking way,” Jisung says. 

Chenle just smiles. He throws his backpack back over his shoulders. Jisung does as Chenle says, wrapping the rope around his legs and his middle.

He points the gun straight up, holding it with both hands. Jisung looks nervously behind them, only to see the men who were shooting at them closing in. 

There’s a loud twang as Chenle shoots the gun, and the hook curls around the top of the cavern. It lands just as Jisung finishes a rough replication of what should be a harness. 

“Perfect.” Chenle takes the ends of the ropes and ties them around himself, looping around his shoulders and around his waist. 

“Hold on tight,” Chenle says as Jisung wraps his arms around him, one around his neck and the other around his waist, gripping the rope in his hand. 

Chenle presses the button on the grappling hook’s gun, and the two begin to move up. 

It’s moderately fast, and fear shoots through Jisung as he holds onto Chenle literally as tight as he possibly can. 

The guards have reached the bottom of the cavern by the time they’re about halfway up, still shooting at the pair. Jisung buries his face in the crook of Chenle’s neck, unable to look. 

A blast grazes past Jisung’s leg. The rope around it snaps. 

Jisung can’t help but screech. 

“Chenle,” he panics. 

“Jisung, it’s fine. You’re gonna be fine, just don’t panic,” Chenle says. They’re almost at the top, but Jisung can feel himself slipping. 

He feels like crying. He’s never been this scared in his life. 

“I’m gonna fall.” Jisung wraps his arms around Chenle tighter, grips the rope tight in his hands. 

“Ji, you’re gonna be fine. I promise,” Chenle says, voice calm. 

Jisung brings his legs up, holding onto Chenle like a koala. He continues to bury his face in the crook of Chenle’s neck. 

“We’re at the top,” Chenle says a few minutes later. Jisung feels an arm wrap around his waist.

Jisung brings his head out from Chenle’s neck. Sure enough, they’re at the edge of the top, and Chenle’s other arm is on top of the flat ground, still holding the gun. Shakily, Jisung lets go of Chenle to grab the dry edge of the crater. He pulls himself up onto the flat ground with Chenle’s help. Jisung just lies on the ground, scared that if he stands he’ll fall. 

Thank fucking god. 

Chenle places his other hand on the ground, and uses his grip on the gun to pull himself up. 

Chenle detaches his grappling hook from the ground, hooking it on his belt before walking over to Jisung. 

“Jisungie,” Chenle says, unable to hide his amusement. 

Jisung just shakes his head. 

“I just almost died,” Jisung says. Panic still coursing through him. 

“There’s still a chance if we don’t get back in space,” Chenle teases. 

Jisung stares at him, horrified. He leaps from the ground before taking Chenle’s outstretched hand and following him back to his ship. 

The second they’re safe in Chenle’s ship, back in the cockpit with the bottom closed up, Jisung can’t help but pull Chenle into a big hug. 

“Never fucking do that again,” Jisung says, his voice muffled by Chenle’s shoulder. 

Chenle freezes at first, but hugs back, bringing his hand up to pat Jisung’s hair. 

“Oh, Jisungie, we would’ve gotten caught if we didn’t,” he says. 

“Chenle, I just almost died,” Jisung says, breath picking up. He’s panicking now. He had managed to hold it off earlier but now it’s hitting him. 

He almost died. He almost fell hundreds of feet and went splat on the bottom of a giant fucking crater. 

“I almost died!” Jisung cries. He pulls away from Chenle, feeling suffocated. 

“Jisung,” Chenle says gently. 

“We could’ve both died, they were shooting at us and they shot my rope and—” 

“Jisung!” Chenle says loudly. He brings his hands up to cup Jisung’s cheeks. 

“You’re okay, I’m okay, you’re okay, I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you, okay?” 

Jisung nods, sniffling. Chenle gently wipes an escaped tear off his cheek. 

“You have so much explaining to do,” Jisung says. 

“I know,” Chenle sighs. He pulls Jisung back into a hug. 

  
“I know.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha why'd they get shot at??? Good question!  
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	3. Unpleasant Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chenle insists they go somewhere safe before talking. 
> 
> They end up parked behind another asteroid, which seems to be Chenle’s go-to. 
> 
> “So, now will you please tell me everything that’s going on?” Jisung begs. 
> 
> Chenle sighs. “Let’s go to my cabin for this.”
> 
> Jisung follows Chenle through the ship after he parks it on the asteroid, and the two enter Chenle’s small but cozy cabin. 
> 
> Chenle takes a seat on the perfectly made bed, patting next to him for Jisung to sit. 
> 
> “There’s,” Chenle takes a deep breath. “There’s a war.”

Chenle insists they go somewhere safe before talking. 

They end up parked behind another asteroid, which seems to be Chenle’s go-to. 

“So, now will you please tell me everything that’s going on?” Jisung begs. 

Chenle sighs. “Let’s go to my cabin for this.”

Jisung follows Chenle through the ship after he parks it on the asteroid, and the two enter Chenle’s small but cozy cabin. 

Chenle takes a seat on the perfectly made bed, patting next to him for Jisung to sit. 

“There’s,” Chenle takes a deep breath. “There’s a war.” 

Jisung stares at him, shocked. 

“A war?” Jisung has to clarify. 

Chenle nods. 

“You’re kidding me, right?” 

Chenle shakes his head. Jisung cranes his head to look at him. Chenle is avoiding eye contact, his head down. 

“The war started fifteen years ago.” He turns to look at Jisung. There are tears in his eyes. 

“The Välde invaded and massacred the Bobovori, a tribe on the same planet as them, a planet called Yahre.” 

Jisung’s eyes widen in shock. Chenle blinks away tears. Nervously, Jisung reaches forward, taking Chenle’s hand in his own. 

He’s never seen Chenle so vulnerable. 

“The war took my parents. Yahre was our neighbor planet, so we were one of the first ones they targeted.” He sniffles. 

Chenle takes a deep breath, composing himself. 

“I’m not actually a delivery pilot,” Chenle admits. 

Jisung’s mouth drops. 

“What?” Chenle lied to him?

“What are you then? Why did you lie?” Part of him still feels bad for Chenle, because he gets losing your parents. But he’s upset, and almost angry.

Chenle looks guilty. 

“I’ve been travelling from town to town, trying to free them of the Välde.” 

“ _What?_ ” 

“And we were chased in the shop because I’m incredibly wanted by the Välde. To them, I am a war criminal.” 

“Chenle, I,” Jisung is shocked. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He’s starting to get upset. 

“I’m sorry, Jisung. I didn’t want to involve you.” 

“So, what, you were just never gonna tell me? Until my own village gets attacked and you drag me off into space?” 

“Jisung—” 

“How could you just not tell me?” Jisung’s voice breaks. 

“Jisung, I’m sorry. I wanted to protect you.” 

Jisung huffs. “I don’t need protection.” 

Chenle doesn’t say anything. 

“I need to relocate us so we aren’t found. I’ll give you some space.” Chenle finally says, after a couple seconds of silence. He squeezes Jisung’s hand. 

With that, Chenle stands, and leaves the cabin. 

Jisung lets out a great sigh, flopping back onto the bed. 

He takes his ⅜ wrench from his pocket, turning it in his hands. 

There’s a war. 

Turn. 

Chenle’s a liberator. 

Turn. 

And a war criminal. 

Turn. 

What does Jisung make of all this? He’s upset with Chenle for not telling him, but Chenle said it was just to protect him. 

But Jisung doesn’t need protection. 

A small voice in Jisung’s head says Chenle makes a good point. Chenle was just trying to keep Jisung out of the war until he had to. He was being considerate. 

Jisung sighs. He really can’t stay upset with Chenle long, can he? Especially when Chenle does have good intentions.

Jisung also feels bad about his parents. Jisung lost his own parents in a village raid, so he understands Chenle’s pain. Chenle already knows this, Jisung told him ages ago, but Chenle never told Jisung about his parents. 

Jisung pushes himself off the bed, heading towards the cockpit. But he stops when he hears voices from the loading bay of the ship. 

Jisung pauses before sneaking around the corner of the ship. He pauses behind the wall to the loading bay, which for some strange reason holds all of Chenle’s cooking ware. 

“I told you I don’t have them, now get off my ship!” 

“Then why did we hear you did have them?” 

“I don’t know why, you dipshit! I have nothing you want, get the fuck off my ship.” Chenle’s tone is acidic. Jisung peeks around the corner. 

Chenle stands, arms crossed, blade in hand, facing 4 men. The first man is tall, taller than Jisung, and he has a bandana wrapped around his head that makes his stark white hair stick up. His arms are crossed, too, and in his right hand is a device that looks kinda like a gun, but instead of a proper barrel there’s two prongs on either side. 

The other three men look equally as threatening. One is shorter, with a vest and a bandana wrapped around his arm. Another is about Chenle’s height, with short black hair and goggles resting on his head. The third has blond streaks in dark hair, a scar across his eye and a grin on his face. 

Jisung tries to hide back behind the wall, but he’s spotted. 

“Hey, you, kid,” the short one calls. Jisung freezes. 

“Come out here. We won’t hurt you, we just want to see you,” the short one says, in a tone that makes Jisung’s spine crawl. 

Tentatively, Jisung comes out from behind the wall. Within seconds, the gun-like device is pointed directly at him. Jisung screws his eyes shut, bracing himself for pain. 

But the pain never comes. Jisung opens his eyes to see Chenle on the ground in front of him, limbs twitching. 

“What the fuck!” Jisung screeches. “What did you do to him?” he cries. Chenle groans. 

The center pirate shrugs. “Well, that wasn’t the plan, but it’ll do.” 

“You can answer our questions then, or be of use to us in other ways,” the middle man smirks. 

He raises his device at Jisung who, in a heartbeat, grabs the closest thing from the wall behind him and brings it down on his hand. 

“Fuck off!” Jisung shouts. The pirates look surprised. 

“Fuck off, fuck off, fuck off!” Jisung steps over Chenle, taking advantage of the pirates’ pause to bang the tallest pirate over the head with the frying pan he’s holding. 

The pirate stumbles backwards, bumping into his other pirate friends. He grips his head. 

“Leave! Go away!” A tear drips down his cheek. He’s so worried about Chenle. 

He hits the short pirate on the head as well. 

The third pirate draws a knife, motioning towards Jisung. He moves away at the last second, fear shooting through him. 

Jisung brings the frying pan down on his wrist, knocking the knife out of his hand. The man cries out in pain. 

He raises the frying pan to the fourth pirate, who immediately raises his arms in surrender. He grabs the second pirate, pulling him off the ship. 

Jisung turns around, raising his frying pan on the first pirate once again, but this time the pirate grabs the handle as Jisung is about to bring it down on him. Jisung freezes before kneeing the pirate right in the crotch. 

The pirate keels over, groaning. Jisung takes the opportunity to shove him off the ship. He stumbles down the ramp. 

It takes Jisung three seconds too long to remember there’s another pirate. He hears the _shink_ of a knife being pulled from its sheath, and turns just in time, moving out of the way of the blade. He doesn’t waste another second hitting him in the side of the head with the frying pan. He watches as the pirate stumbles off the ship, falling on the side of the ramp. The second he’s down, Jisung slams his hand on the button to close the ramp. 

Jisung slumps against the wall before hurrying over to Chenle, who’s still face down on the ground. 

“Chenle?” Jisung chokes on his words. 

Chenle groans, moving his arm slightly to push himself up, before dropping back down to the ground. 

“What did they do to you? Why did you do that?” Jisung ignores the tears in his eyes. 

“They fucking tased me, assholes,” Chenle mutters. Jisung cries a little bit at Chenle’s voice. Even if he sounds very grumpy. 

“Why did you take it for me?” Jisung asks quietly. Chenle is hurt, because of him. 

“Well.” Chenle tries to push himself up again. Jisung reaches out, helping him up and into a sitting position. 

“I didn’t want them to hurt you,” Chenle says, finally sitting up. He leans against the wall, closing his eyes. 

Jisung frowns. “But what were you thinking? I had to fight them off.”

“The hope was you’d run, and they’d just take me and leave you alone.” 

Jisung smacks him in the arm. “You dumbass, you really think I’d leave you?” 

Chenle gives a weak smile. “It wasn’t a well thought-out plan.” 

“Yeah, no shit,” Jisung grumbles. “You scared the crap out of me.” 

“Jisung,” Chenle says, tone serious, “I really am sorry I didn’t tell you before.” 

Jisung shrugs, looking at the ground. He reaches out to take Chenle’s hand. 

“It’s okay. I’m not upset with you,” he says, truthfully. 

“I was at first but,” he looks up at Chenle, “I understand, so it’s okay.” 

Chenle smiles at him, for real this time. 

“Thank you, Jisungie. I would hug you if I could move more.”

Jisung wrinkles his nose, eliciting a laugh from Chenle. They stay like that for a while, just in silence, enjoying each other’s presence. 

Finally, Chenle pushes himself up, stretching. 

“God, that sucked. Now let’s get out of here,” Chenle says. He extends a hand, helping Jisung to his feet. 

Hand in hand, the two make their way back to the cockpit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the truth is out! Lmk what you think!! Take care <3  
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	4. Of Strange Fruits and Stranger Creatures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chenle smiles. “Perks of travelling the galaxy.” 
> 
> Jisung thinks he could get used to this. A new existence with Chenle’s bright smile and strange, pink and green vegetables.

“So, what next?” Jisung asks. He takes his seat in the copilot’s chair, strapping himself in and putting on his helmet. 

Chenle smiles slyly. “Well, that thing those pirates were looking for.” he opens a drawer under the console, and pulls out a small flash drive. 

“I have it, it’s important files.” 

Jisung’s jaw drops.

“No way.” 

“These are supposedly floor plans and battle plans for the empire, that way we’ll know their every next move.” 

“Woah, how did you get it?” Jisung asks. Chenle laughs nervously. 

“I broke into the capital city, one of the heaviest guarded cities in the eastern quadrant.” 

“No fucking way, you are not that cool.” 

Chenle smacks him as Jisung laughs. 

“I am too! I have the files clearly.” 

“Uh-huh.” Jisung grins at him. 

“However.” Chenle clears his throat, Jisung can tell his cheeks are dusted pink. Cute. “They’re encrypted.” 

“Encrypted?” 

“Coded, unreadable; but lucky for us, I have a friend who’ll be able to help us.”

Jisung raises an eyebrow at him. Chenle tosses the flash drive back into the compartment, leaning back in his chair and strapping himself in. He grips the steering wheel, pulling the lever to get them off the ground. 

“His name is Na Jaemin. He lives all the way on Tantular, which is in the southern quadrant. It’ll take a while to get there, but he should be able to help us.” 

“He’s the smartest guy I’ve ever met,” Chenle says as they swerve through asteroids. 

“Is he nice?” 

“Super nice! A little weird, but he’s Epocian. That’s from Epocia, also in the southern quadrant.” 

“Epocia,” Jisung mutters. His mind swirls. He’s been introduced to so many new species and planets in such a short period of time that it feels like his brain was put in a blender. 

The flight is peaceful. They chat casually after that. Chenle shares more stories of the people he’s met and the species he’s seen and it only makes Jisung’s head spin even more. 

“Hey, Chenle,” Jisung says after Chenle winds down. 

“Yeah?” 

“Can you teach me how to fly?” he asks. 

He had been thinking about it for a while, especially with Chenle getting tased and being unable to fly. 

Chenle looks surprised, but pleased. 

“Sure, I’d love to.” He pulls down a lever to his right, and the ship slows to a stop. Chenle undoes his seatbelt, and gestures for Jisung to do the same. 

Jisung walks over to Chenle. 

“So this is for steering, but it isn’t a full wheel, because that’s lame. This is called a butterfly wheel.” he points to the wheel, which is, in fact, shaped like a butterfly. 

“This lever,” he points to one to the right of the steering wheel, “is to get the ship moving.” 

“And that lever,” he points to one up and to the left, “is for going into hyperspace!” 

Chenle points to various buttons, ones that give a blast of momentum, ones that shift the ship’s artificial gravity, ones that cloak the ship and many, many more. 

It all makes Jisung’s head spin. He’s starting to feel dizzy when Chenle turns to look at him. 

“Jisung? Oh, you don’t look so good,” Chenle says, resting a hand on Jisung’s cheek. 

Jisung smiles weakly, before realizing he hasn’t eaten since they’ve gotten into space. 

“I think I just need some food,” Jisung says. 

Chenle’s eyes widen in realization and horror. 

“ _ Shit _ , I haven’t fed you! Oh my god!” As if on cue, Jisung’s stomach growls loudly. 

Jisung laughs at Chenle’s reaction, he seems so appalled with himself. 

“Oh, quit laughing at me!” Chenle whines. 

“I just wasn’t expecting this reaction.” Jisung laughs. 

“I usually eat like, every sixteen hours, I forgot you’re a normal human with a normal food schedule,” Chenle grumbles. 

Sixteen hours?!

“Chenle, that’s so unhealthy.” Jisung gives him a bewildered stare. 

“I’m half Berevian, it's fine!” 

Jisung’s glad he already knew that. That would’ve been a big surprise otherwise.

“That’s still half human!” 

Chenle just sticks his tongue out him, grabbing Jisung’s wrist and pulling him down to the kitchen. 

The kitchen is small, with a tiny sink, and a couple cabinets. He isn’t sure exactly where the sink’s water supply is from. In fact, Jisung isn’t even sure how the ship’s artificial gravity works. 

Chenle pulls the bag of fruit from his backpack, which he grabbed on the way down. 

“So, these are really sweet, we can save them for dessert.” he sets aside the purple and yellow fruit. 

“But these!” Chenle exclaims, pulling out the large green vegetable and the fuzzy brown fruit, “are perfect!” 

He places them onto the counter, and grabs a knife from a drawer. He slices open the green vegetable, and Jisung’s eyes widen in shock when it has a bright, neon magenta inside. 

He slices off a piece, handing it to Jisung. 

Tentatively, Jisung takes a small bite. He wrinkles his nose. It’s bitter. 

“Chenle, how do you eat this?” He holds the vegetable away from his face. 

Chenle looks back from his cutting and laughs. 

“Jisung, you have to bite far enough in that you reach the pink part, that’s the edible bit.” 

“Oh.” Jisung’s cheeks flush. But Chenle’s bright smile makes him feel better. 

Jisung takes a larger bite of the fruit, and is instead met with a clear, crisp flavor. It’s tart, but good. 

“I like it!” 

“There you go, Jiji,” Chenle says, taking a bite of his own slice. 

“I never tasted anything like this one back home.”

Chenle smiles. “Perks of travelling the galaxy.” 

Jisung thinks he could get used to this. A new existence with Chenle’s bright smile and strange, pink and green vegetables. 

* * *

“We’re almost here,” Chenle says, looking over at Jisung from his seat. 

They finished eating a while ago, also having some crackers and dried meat that Chenle had stored. They’re back at the cockpit, Chenle’s newly fixed navigator announcing that they’re entering the solar system they need to be in. 

They approach Tantular, a lush green and blue planet. As they enter the planet’s atmosphere, Jisung sees raging oceans and white crests, water like he’s never seen before. He stares in awe as a large, blue creature jumps out of the water, arcing through the air before landing back in. 

“Holy shit!! Chenle did you see that?” Jisung turns to Chenle excitedly, only to be taken aback by the other boy staring at him fondly. 

Heat rises to Jisung’s cheeks. After a second, Chenle looks away, then points out the windshield. 

Jisung’s mouth drops in awe at what he sees. 

There are trees, large, ginormous trees. With luscious green leaves and vines hanging down and typing them together. There are strange, brown creatures in the branches, and brightly colored birds and large, scaly creatures holding onto the trunks of the trees. It’s nothing like Jisung has ever seen before. The colors are vibrant, a strike contrast to the muted colors of the desert. There are shades Jisung has never seen before, only on the ships that have come to his shop or in the faded magazine his dad got him when he came back from a trip. 

“Woah,” Jisung utters, staring as they fly into the thick foliage. 

“Hold on tight, Jisungie,” Chenle says, reaching over and pressing a button. Jisung’s seat belt tightens its hold on him, and he’s forced back in his seat. 

Chenle turns the wheel, and the ship turns on its side, slowly weaving in between the trees. 

“Couldn’t we have just gone over?” Jisung asks. Chenle seems to be breaking a sweat trying to get them through this amazing jungle. 

“And miss all this? Jisung, you look so excited,” Chenle says, tone genuine. Jisung’s cheeks flush, and he closes his mouth. 

A few seconds later, a large, hairy brown creature lands on the windshield. 

Jisung screams. 

The creature has large fangs, and it’s slobbering all over, saliva dripping onto Chenle’s windshield. It has 4 legs, and large hands, pressed onto the windshield. Instead of toes, it simply has sharp claws.

“What is that!” 

Chenle laughs at his scream, pressing another button, which sends a blast of air from the base of the windshield, knocking the creature off. 

“That’s a Booban, they’re very hostile,” Chenle says, finally straightening the ship out again to exit the large forest. 

“Scary,” Jisung mumbles. He peers through the trees. 

“Holy shit,” Jisung whispers. 

What’s left is a large, flat plain of land, surrounding a sparkling, clear body of water. The water is so clear that Jisung can see all the way through it, see all the large fish and snake-like creatures in the water. There are various water plants, too. 

Surrounding the water is a field of brightly colored, strangely-shaped flowers. With all sorts of creatures, small and large. Ones with bright patterned fur and ones with green fur. It’s incredible. 

On the far side of the plain is a mountain, towering over the greenery. To the side of the mountain, overlooking the ocean, is a small house, carved half into the side of the mountain. 

“There.” Chenle points to the house. They land on the field at the base of the mountain. 

“Are we gonna have to climb that?” Jisung asks, incredulous. Jisung is not the athletic type. 

“Don’t worry, Jaemin has a base entrance. And I have a key!” Chenle says brightly, pulling a small, gold key from his pocket. Chenle undoes his seatbelt, grabbing the flash drive from the compartment and slipping it into his pocket. 

The second Jisung leaves the ship, he’s hit with the freshest scent he’s ever smelt. It’s bright, clear, and the only word Jisung thinks he could use to describe it is floral. It reminds him of his mother’s old perfume. 

He leans down, looking at a pink and blue flower with petals striated. Cautiously, he picks it, lifting it up to his nose. 

It smells how it looks. 

He turns to look at Chenle, who’s giving him a fond look again. 

“Chenle, this is amazing,” he says quietly. 

Chenle walks over, taking the flower from Jisung’s grip. He places it behind Jisung’s ear. 

“There you go, cutie.” Chenle smiles. 

Jisung’s face burns. 

“Now come on, let’s find Jaemin.” He presses the button to close the bottom of the ship. He takes Jisung’s wrist in his hand, pulling him towards the wall of rock. 

Once they get to the wall, Chenle drops his wrist, instead pressing his hand up to the rock. He puts his ear against the rock as well. Jisung watches silently, confused. 

“Aha!” Chenle says, after a couple minutes of moving around. He raises a small piece of moss, and underneath it Jisung sees there’s a small keyhole. 

Chenle places the key in the hole and turns it. The wall to the right of the keyhole begins to move, shifting behind and to the side, opening up a passageway. 

Nervous, Jisung grips the bottom of Chenle’s shirt. He peers inside the passage. It looks dark, muggy. There’s water dripping from the ceiling and green sludge oozing from the walls. 

Chenle pockets the key again. He reaches down, gently detaching Jisung’s hand from his shirt and slipping his own hand into Jisung’s. Jisung ignores the heat rising to his face. 

He feels much more safe with Chenle’s hand in his own. 

Slowly, they creep into the cavern, Chenle leading the way. It smells disgusting, like mold and old wood. 

It’s dark. Chenle has to pull a flashlight from his jacket, lighting the path. 

There are stairs at one point, and Jisung almost trips up them. Chenle’s iron grip holds him up when he falls. 

“You dummy,” Chenle teases, voice light. 

“Shut up,” Jisung grumbles. 

They continue to make their way up the slippery steps, until finally they stop, and the path is flat yet again. 

At the end of the tunnel is a door, a rather nice wooden door, with a silver doorknob and a small window at the top. 

“Come on, Jaemin’s nice, I promise.” 

Chenle walks forward, pushing open the door. 

They walk in. Chenle pulls them to the left, before stopping. 

There’s a blue-haired man sitting at his desk—likely Jaemin—and there’s another young man standing next to him, with a gun to Jaemin’s head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha who tf has a gun to jaemin's head??? and why??? good question bro  
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	5. Lee Jeno of the Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Lee Jeno! What the fuck!” Chenle shouts. 
> 
> The other boy, presumably Lee Jeno, scoffs at Chenle. He lowers his gun. 
> 
> “Zhong Chenle, you have something I want.” 
> 
> Chenle scoffs. “Why do you have a gun to his head?” 
> 
> Jeno smiles sweetly. “I need his help for something.”

“Oh, hey cuties, what brings you two here?” Jaemin asks, tone light. 

The first thing Jisung notices about Jaemin is his vibrant blue hair and blue eyes. Crawling up his neck and curling around the corner of his jawline are shiny teal and darker blue scales. Scales travel down Jaemin’s arms as well, down to his hands. His fingers are tipped teal and have blue-teal webbing between them. 

“Lee Jeno! What the fuck!” Chenle shouts. 

The other boy, presumably Lee Jeno, scoffs at Chenle. He lowers his gun. 

Jeno is tall, with platinum blond hair and a dark-colored undercut. A long scar covers his face, from his left brow bone down to his chin. He has a thin vest on, with pockets all over it, and cargo shorts. Hanging off his belt is a white and blue helmet with a blue insignia on it of a hand symbol. He has a black t-shirt under his vest; peeking out from under the sleeve on his left arm is a black tattoo. 

“Zhong Chenle, you have something I want.” 

Chenle scoffs. “Why do you have a gun to his head?” 

Jeno smiles sweetly. “I need his help for something.” 

Chenle lets go of Jisung’s hand to cross his arms. “What could you possibly want his help with? Last I checked you don’t have the files.” Chenle smirks. 

Jeno’s expression darkens at his words. He’s kinda scary. Jisung takes Chenle’s shirt in his hand again. 

“I want his help breaking Mark out of prison, but as the one who put him there, I don’t expect you to care.” 

“I didn’t fucking put him there, it isn’t my fault that your plan was shitty.” 

“It is your fault that you stole the files before we could!” 

“Oh please, you’re not the center of everything. I would’ve gotten those files regardless of what your dinky organization was trying to do.” 

The argument gets more and more heated. While Chenle appears calm, Jisung can see his hands shaking. Desperate, he looks to Jaemin. 

Jaemin stands, clearing his throat. 

“Boys, I’ll help both of you, but you’re scaring our new friend, so cut it out,” Jaemin says calmly, voice steady. 

Chenle immediately whips around to face Jisung. 

“Are you ok?” He asks softly, reaching out to take Jisung’s hand. Jisung nods. 

He wasn’t really scared, he was just nervous. 

“Now, Chenle, what is it you need?” Jaemin beckons him over with webbed fingers. Jisung waddles after him. He doesn’t want to be alone anywhere near Jeno. Jeno is scary. 

Chenle pulls the flashdrive from his pocket. “I need you to decrypt this.” 

“The files,” Jeno whispers. 

“Yeah,” Chenle says, tone sharp. 

“I still don’t understand why you won’t give them to the resistance, or come back yourself.” 

“Please,” Chenle scoffs. “You already know how I feel about the resistance, Jeno. I’m staying solo. And if you knew any better, you’d join me instead.” 

“And you already know how I feel about that.” 

Jaemin plugs the flash drive into his laptop, watching as numbers and letters fly across the screen. He squints at the screen, then types quickly, command after command. 

Within just a couple seconds, a large green circle shows up on the screen, with the words ‘access granted’ written across it. 

Jaemin swivels around in his chair, a catlike grin on his face. 

“There you go, Chenle.” he unplugs the flash drive, handing it to Chenle, who immediately pockets it. 

“Thanks, Jaemin! You’re the best.” 

“You’re welcome,” Jaemin says warmly. 

“Now you.” His tone shifts to something cold. “What the fuck do you want.” 

Jeno crosses his arms. “I need your help breaking Mark out of prison. All of you.” 

* * *

The last thing Chenle expected was to have Lee Jeno of the resistance on his ship. 

The last thing Chenle wanted was to have Lee Jeno of the resistance on his ship. 

But nope, here they fucking are. 

Jeno insisted he and Jisung help, considering Chenle is supposedly the reason Mark’s in prison. When that’s completely untrue. 

The resistance were the ones with the stupidass idea to have Mark Lee, a boy two years older than Chenle, play as a spy to grab the files. Chenle just so happens to be really fucking cool, so he managed to sneak in and grab the files before Mark got the chance to, but afterwards Mark’s intentions were revealed, so Mark ended up getting arrested. 

_ Not _ Chenle’s fault, which he very carefully explained to Jisung, who nodded, cute and wide-eyed. 

Jisung is cute. Chenle’s grateful everyday that he happened to be on Vesnia that fateful day. He’s even more grateful that Jisung came with him. 

He does feel kinda bad for taking Jisung from his home and dragging him into Chenle’s incredibly messy life, full of danger and pirates and near death experiences. And god, there’s still stuff Chenle hasn’t told him. 

He gulps. He still isn’t sure how to do that. 

He’s knocked out of his thoughts by Jisung pinching his side. He yelps, swatting at the younger boy’s hand. 

“You have to pilot the ship,” Jisung whispers cheekily to him. Chenle smacks him again. 

He’s lucky he’s cute. 

Chenle flops into his seat, buckling himself up. Luckily, the cabin has an extra bench that folds out from the wall, so Jeno and Jaemin are able to seat themselves down. 

Chenle pulls the lever, and off into space they go. 

* * *

“So, how exactly do you plan to break into prison?” 

They’ve made it into deep space, parked behind a small planet. They’re paused to discuss where exactly they’re headed. 

Jeno sighs at the question. “I have no idea.” 

“Seriously? You dragged us all with you only to have no plan?” Chenle asks, annoyed. Jisung places a hand on Chenle’s knee, to discourage him from jumping Jeno. 

“Why do you think I visited Jaemin? I needed ideas!” Jeno fires back. 

“Well, now you have me, and I do have an idea,” Jaemin says calmly, easing the tension. First, we hijack one of their cargo ships that travels in and out of the prison. Then, one of us steals the guard’s uniform, while the other two hide in the cargo. Once the false guard finds the location, the other two are in charge of getting to Mark. We’ll give the stolen keycard to the cargo boys, who will then go and break out Mark. We’ll reconvene in the hangar, and once you’re all there, one of you will send me a message and I’ll come pick you up.” 

“You say that like it’s easy,” Chenle scoffs. 

“There is one thing, though.” Jaemin’s tone turns dark. 

“Jisung, you’re the only one of us not known by the empire. You’re gonna have to be the guard.”

Jisung freezes. 

Shit.

“No way,” Chenle interrupts. He presses a couple buttons, setting the ship on autopilot before turning around in his chair. When he does, his arms are crossed and there’s a stern look on his face. 

“Jisung is not going as the guard.” 

Jaemin raises an eyebrow. “Why not?” 

“Jisung doesn’t even have his own weapon, he’s not ready to break into a high security prison. I haven’t even shown him any ways to fight. If he gets caught, then what?” 

“Chenle, I know how to fight,” Jisung mutters. 

“I know, and Jisung, I say this out of love, but you are not ready to break into a prison.” 

Jisung sighs. He wants to believe he is ready but he really isn’t. He beat the pirates by pure luck, and freaked out at the market. 

Wait, did he say out of love? 

“Chenle, we don’t have a choice, if we’re breaking Mark out of prison then—” 

“Hold up,  _ you’re  _ the one who wants to break Mark out of prison, not me, not us.” He cuts off Jeno. 

“He’s in prison because of you!” 

“No, he isn’t! I’m not the one who made the stupid choice to send Mark into the thick of things in the first place,” Chenle bites. His tone is harsh. 

“If you two have this argument again, we’re visiting my lovely Meelion friend in the lake,” Jaemin threatens. 

Jisung doesn’t know what it is, but judging by the expressions on both Chenle and Jeno’s faces, he’d guess it’s a giant sea monster. 

“We’re helping Jeno. And Chenle, unless you have a better idea, this is how it has to be,” Jaemin says. 

“I’m sorry, Chenle, Jisung will have to learn this stuff eventually, you can’t protect him forever.” Jaemin’s tone is sad. 

Chenle huffs. He unbuckles his seatbelt, stands, and walks out of the cabin. Jisung is quick to follow him. 

“Chenle,” Jisung says. 

Chenle’s cabin door is slightly cracked, just enough to let Jisung know he can go in. 

“Chenle,” Jisung says, pushing the door open and walking in. He closes it behind him, and it clicks shut. 

Chenle lies on the bed, flopped out like a starfish. 

“I’m sorry, Jisung.” Chenle pushes himself up. 

“It’s okay.” Jisung takes a seat on the bed. 

“It isn’t. I brought you out here, it’s my responsibility to protect you.” Chenle seems really upset. 

Jisung isn’t used to people caring about him this deeply. He hasn’t had anyone close to him in his life since his grandmother died, the woman who raised him after his parents passed away during the raid. 

“Here.” Chenle knocks Jisung out of his thoughts by pressing a small, folded pocket knife in his hands. 

“For emergencies, you can slip it in your boot.” 

Jisung turns the small object in his hand. There’s an engraving on the side, characters Jisung can’t read. 

“It means something in Chinese. My mother spoke it, she was from Earth. I don’t remember exactly what it says,” Chenle frowns. “I can only speak Chinese, not read it, but it says something about the strength within or whatever.” Chenle shrugs. 

“Woah, say something in Chinese.” Jisung’s curious. He’s never heard chinese before. 

“ _ You are the cutest person on this ship, _ ” Chenle says, smiling.

Jisung grins. “What does that mean?” 

“It means you’re a stinky butthead.” 

Jisung pouts. “Thanks, Chenle.” 

Chenle cackles, leaning to rest his head on Jisung’s shoulder. Jisung’s cheeks flush at the action. 

“We’ll be okay,” Jisung reassures, ignoring how terrified he himself is. 

* * *

Jisung can’t sleep again. 

He had been staying in Chenle’s spare cabin, but due to Jaemin and Jeno joining them on the ship, he’s been stuck on the top bunk in Chenle’s cabin, while Jaemin and Jeno are in the other cabins. 

So Jisung does what he always does when he can’t sleep. He goes out to look at the stars. 

If there is one thing that Jisung has learned about space travel, it’s that sleeping is weird. Chenle, he’s learned, rarely ever sleeps, and when he does he doesn’t sleep for long. He falls asleep at the wheel a lot, waking up with button imprints on his forehead. It’s cute. He’s cute. 

Jisung has tried to maintain a relatively normal sleep schedule, based on his watch, but as time continues his schedule becomes more and more skewed, less regular, more sporadic. 

Jisung makes his way up to the cockpit, ready to sit down in his copilot’s seat and curl up. 

But what he isn’t expecting is to see a blue-haired boy already in his seat. 

“Jaemin,” he says, surprised. Jaemin turns in the chair, waving hello. 

He’s got a blanket wrapped around him, and he’s holding a mug in hand. 

“Hello Jisung, care to join me?” Jaemin asks. His voice is low, but eerily calming. 

Jisung takes a seat in the pilot’s chair, turning it as to avoid touching any buttons. 

“The stars are beautiful, aren’t they?” Jaemin says, looking up at them. 

Jisung nods, turning back to look at the night sky. 

It’s a vast, endless pool of stars and planets. There are some asteroids to their left and a rather large planet far in the distance. It’s like nothing Jisung could ever see back home. It’s truly beautiful. 

“They really are,” Jisung whispers, not wanting to break the calm. 

“I’m sorry you’re going to have to go undercover,” Jaemin says softly. 

Jisung just shrugs. “It would’ve happened eventually.” 

Jaemin hums. 

“Chenle really seems to care about you,” the older says. 

“If I were to guess,” he turns to look at Jisung, piercing blue eyes meeting Jisung’s own brown ones. 

“I’d say you care about him just as much.” 

Jisung shrugs again, unsure of what to say. Does Jaemin know about his feelings? 

“I can see it in your eyes, Jisungie, when you look at him.” Jaemin turns back to look at the night sky. 

“You should tell him, he’ll respond well.” 

Jisung doesn’t say anything, instead continuing to look at the vast sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:)  
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	6. Undercover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To say Jisung is terrified would be an understatement. 
> 
> He’s never broken into a prison before. Ever. He’s never even properly fought anyone before. Yet here he is, with a blaster on his belt and a knife in his boot.

Jisung wakes up to shouting. 

Groggy, he rolls off the bed, dropping onto the floor below. He quickly changes his clothes, slipping out the door as the voices continue. 

“You are not going on that ship. I said I’d handle it, so I’ll handle it, how many times do I have to tell you that?” Chenle says. 

“It’s my mission, and you can’t insist you go and refuse to let one of us handle your ship,” Jeno responds, indignant. 

“I told you already, Jisungie will handle the ship here.” 

“And I told you, Jaemin said Jisung should probably go on the ship, you really think they won’t call a distress signal upon seeing one of our wretched faces?”

“Don’t call my face wretched!” Chenle scoffs. 

“Well, sorry.” Jisung can tell he is not sorry at all. 

Jisung reaches the cockpit to see Jeno and Chenle standing at odds, snapping at one another, both with their arms crossed. Jaemin is sitting in the corner, holding a book. Jisung has no idea where he keeps getting these items, but he doesn’t question it. 

“Jisungie!” Chenle exclaims upon seeing Jisung, face immediately lighting up. Jeno rolls his eyes. Luckily, Chenle doesn’t see. 

“Can you watch over the ship while I go board the enemy ship and take out the guy?” Chenle asks quickly, dragging Jisung over to the control board. 

“Uh, uh sure,” Jisung stutters, overwhelmed. 

“Great! Now I will go—” 

“Just let me come with you, Chenle,” Jeno sighs. 

“It’s not safe to go alone, I know how you feel about me and frankly I don’t really care, but be reasonable.” 

Jisung looks to Chenle pleadingly. He wants the older to be safe. 

Chenle meets his eyes, then sighs. 

“Fine.” 

“He’s whipped,” Jeno whispers to Jaemin. Chenle glares at Jeno. 

“I’m gonna go get ready.” Chenle walks out of the cockpit, down through the hall. 

“What even is your deal?” Jaemin asks, putting his book down. 

Jeno sighs. “Chenle left the resistance three months ago, and he wants me to leave too.” 

“Why’d he leave?” Jisung asks. 

“The resistance has done some…” Jeno trails off. “Immoral stuff.” 

“Chenle didn’t like it, and he stood up to Chen, the leader, then left, saying he was wrong.” 

“We were really close. At the time, it was like betrayal, he left so easily.” Jeno takes a seat next to Jaemin. 

Jisung just stares quietly. Jeno does look upset by it. Jisung didn’t realize they had a past. 

Interesting, how those things play out. 

* * * 

To say Chenle is annoyed would be an understatement. He thought he was done having to work with Jeno. Now, not only is he working with Jeno, but he’s also putting Jisung’s life in danger and if he gets hurt, Chenle doesn’t even want to think about what’ll happen. 

So he’s annoyed. If Jeno wants to work with him so badly, why doesn’t he just quit the resistance and join Chenle permanently? 

It’s not even that he’s working with Jeno that’s the big issue, it’s the fact that Jeno’s asking for his help with resistance dirty work, when Chenle explicitly quit the resistance after the incident months ago. 

Jeno was upset with him for some reason, which was stupid. Could Jeno not see reason? Or humanity? 

Chenle finishes backing his pockets and belt quickly, making sure he has his blaster and his knife, as well as his luxtro. 

A luxtro is a unique weapon, one Chenle found at the market one day. He learned they’re exclusively made on Litticion. It’s a weapon that instead of having a solid blade, has a laser blade, it’s the closest recreation of a lightsaber from the old human movies. There are all different forms, it can slice through almost anything, can be made as a knife or a spear, a broad sword or a katana. Chenle has seen all sorts of them. 

His is a knife. The white-blue blade retracts easily, so there’s no need to worry about accidentally slicing your leg off while it hangs from your belt. 

Chenle heads back up to the cockpit, to find Jisung spinning in circles in his pilot’s chair, Jaemin reading his book, and Jeno picking at his nails with his knife. 

“Jisung, you’re gonna make yourself sick,” Chenle gently chides. 

Jisung stops spinning, sticking his foot out on the floor to slow himself down. He smiles cheekily at Chenle, who fondly rolls his eyes. 

“Jen—Jeno,” he corrects himself. “Let’s head out.” 

Jaemin sighs loudly, placing his book down again, “I really don’t think one of you should go.” 

“Jisung’s already risking his life once, I’m not letting him twice.” 

“It’s fine, Jaemin, we’ll go,” Jeno interjects. 

Chenle nods. 

He’s missed Jeno, but he won’t say that out loud. 

They make their way down the ship to where the hangar has latched onto the enemy’s ship. Chenle slices through the metal with his luxtro, creating an opening for him and Jeno to sneak through. 

The ship is quiet, and the hallway they land in is lined with crates. Jeno lifts the edge of the first crate to find it full of weapons. 

He gulps, walking back to Chenle. 

“Let’s keep moving.” 

Chenle nods. 

They creep down the hallway, heading towards the front of the ship. Jeno’s pressed against the right wall, while Chenle’s pressed against the left. 

“There,” Chenle whispers, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway. 

They’re creeping towards it when there’s a gasp from behind them. 

Chenle turns instantly, blaster up, freezing when he sees a small, blue creature standing there. 

The creature has small ears, a tattered dress, and a trunk. Chenle kneels, holding his hand out to the little girl. 

“Hello,” he says calmly. Jeno continues to move forward next to him. Chenle lets him. They still have a mission. 

Chenle can’t believe it. An Anduvian. He thought those were extinct. So why is there one on this ship? 

“Why are you here?” He asks calmly. The young girl seems scared, hugging a tiny doll close to her chest. 

She says something in a language Chenle can’t understand. He pulls a small earpiece from his belt, placing it in his ear. 

“Say again?” 

“Behind you,” she whimpers. 

Chenle is up in a second, whipping around to find a large man, with an identical blue trunk, hovering over him. 

Chenle stumbles backwards, grabbing his blaster from his belt and holding it out in front of him. 

“Why are you here?” the man asks in a low voice. Chenle peers around behind him, wincing when he sees Jeno out cold on the floor. 

Chenle takes a deep breath. 

“Are you with the empire?” he asks. 

The man roars in offense at his question, raising his fist.

Chenle drops his gun in an instant, sticking his hands up in the air. 

“Okay, so that was the wrong question,” he mutters to himself. 

“I’m not here to hurt you, you’re in an empire ship.”

“I know, I stole it,” he grunts. 

Chenle lets himself relax. He bows deeply. 

“I apologize then, my friend and I have a very important mission. We believed we were invading an enemy ship.” 

The man is silent at first, before guffawing loudly. 

“Do not apologize for that, silly human! Any enemy of the empire is a friend of ours! It was simply a misunderstanding! What is your mission?” 

Chenle straightens, surprised. He had heard the Anduvian were friendly folk, but he wasn’t expecting this friendly. 

“We’re trying to break our friend out of prison,” he begins. 

The Anduvian seems trained on his every word as Chenle tells him the details of the plan. At some point, Jisung appears down the hallway, gun in hand and worry etched onto the features of his face. 

“Jisungie!! Meet Minseok! He’s Anduvian.” 

Jisung stares wide-eyed at the other man, before waving. 

“Hello,” he says, awkwardly. Chenle explains who Minseok is, and his species. 

About the same time, there’s a groan down the hall as Jeno slowly comes to. 

Jeno stands, making his wobbly way over to them with the wall as support. 

“Chenle,” Jeno slurs. “Look out, there’s a big guy with a trunk.” 

They all laugh at that. 

“Don’t worry, human,” Minseok smacks Jeno on the back in camaraderie, “I won’t hurt you. Sorry about your head.” Jeno groans as his large hand smacks him. 

“Now what was it you needed? The uniforms?” Chenle nods. Minseok reaches into the crate next to Jeno, accidentally knocking him out of the way. He hands a uniform to Chenle, who takes it graciously. Chenle passes it to Jisung, sending him back to his ship with a pat on the back to go change. 

Minseok helps Chenle and Jeno find suitable crates to hide in, and the plan gets put into action. 

* * * 

To say Jisung is terrified would be an understatement. 

He’s never broken into a prison before. Ever. He’s never even properly fought anyone before. Yet here he is, with a blaster on his belt and a knife in his boot. 

His task is simple. Find Mark, then relay that info to Chenle and Jeno. Go into Mark’s cell, try to get him as close to the hangar as possible. After he relays the info, Jeno and Chenle cause a distraction which allows Mark and Jisung to get out. 

He lets Minseok fly the ship into the hangar. The story is simple. They’ve supposedly been captured by Jisung, who is now a part of the empire. Oh boy. 

Minseok handles the ship well, flying into the hangar with ease and landing in the open area. 

“Good luck, kid,” Minseok whispers to him, patting him gently on the back. Jisung can only nod. 

Shaking, he steps off the ship. 

A droid greets him. Jisung motions to the ship. 

“It has cargo in it, please unload it,” he says, as confidently as he can muster. 

The droid nods, heading towards the ship and heading in the door. Jisung can only pray they don’t suspect anything. 

Walk with your head high, and act like you’re supposed to be there. You are supposed to be there. That’s what Chenle has told him. 

Jisung slips out of the hangar and into the halls with ease. He makes it a couple steps down the first hallway before a large man steps in front of him. 

“And what are you doing?” The man asks. Jisung is suddenly very grateful for the helmet covering half of his face, so that the man can’t see the fear in his eyes. 

“I am simply doing my rounds, sir,” Jisung says, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice. The man in front of him grips his rifle tighter. It doesn’t look like a traditional blaster, it looks more like an old human weapon. 

“Very well, carry on,” the man says, and Jisung tries not to let his shoulders slump in relief. He simply nods, and continues forward. 

His eyes dart around, peering in every cell. His heart is pounding in his chest, and he’s absolutely terrified, but he pushes his fear down. He has a task. He needs to stay focused. 

He loops around the end, turning down a second hallway. This one is labeled higher security. He gulps. 

He’s halfway down the hall when he spots Mark’s name on the screen outside the cell. 

_ Mark Lee _

_ 00824 _

_ Criminal of the Empire  _

_ High Security Prisoner  _

Jisung takes a deep breath. He looks both ways down the hall, relaxing when he sees no people. Quickly, swipes his name card against the pad, and lets himself in the cell. 

There’s a figure in the corner of the cell. Jisung can see scaled hands with short, claw-like fingertips. 

Jeno didn’t mention that Mark isn’t human. 

Jisung closes the door behind him, and Mark’s head snaps up. Jisung jumps as copper eyes stare back at him, glowing in the dark, with slit like oval pupils. 

Jisung’s heart is pounding in his chest. 

“What do you want, scum?” Mark’s voice is raspy. 

Jisung gulps. Reaching up, he takes his helmet off, and puts his hands in the air. 

“Hi,” he says, voice trembling, “I’m a friend of Jeno’s.” 

He’s terrified. Mark is scary. 

“Jeno?” Mark hisses. A forked tongue darks out. He licks his bottom lip. 

Mark walks over to Jisung. Jisung is comforted by the fact that he’s taller than Mark. But Mark is broader. 

“Who are you?” he asks, getting close to Jisung. 

“My name’s Jisung. We’re here to break you out.” Oh, Jisung feels like passing out. 

“Who’s ‘we’?” Mark asks. 

Jisung gulps. “Chenle, Jeno, Jaemin, and I.” 

Mark squints at him. 

“Chenle, huh,” he says. 

“Yes,” Jisung squeaks. 

Mark’s face breaks into a smile. 

“Alright, I’ll go with you.” Jisung lets out of a sigh of relief. He won’t be eaten by lizard man today. 

“You looked like you were about to pass out! Where’d they even find you, kid?” Mark asks, slapping Jisung in the arm. 

Jisung jumps in surprise. 

“I was just messing with you, I promise I’m not some scary lizard man who eats people for fun,” Mark says, laughing. 

Jisung pouts. “Come on, this is already scary enough,” he whines. 

Mark reaches up and pinches his cheek. “You’re cute, let’s get out of here.” 

Jisung lets out a sigh, walking over and opening the door with his keycard. He uses the handcuffs on his belt to cuff Mark’s hands behind his back so as to not look suspicious. 

Jeno had told him there was a place for torture somewhere in the ship, and his excuse would have to be he was taking Mark there. 

They speed walk down the halls, turning and making their way down the main hall quickly. Then Chenle appears down the end of the hall, very much not in the cargo like he should be. That’s when Jisung hears shooting from behind him. He jumps, watching as bullets fly by. 

Shit, they’re using bullets. 

More guards appear on the other side of Chenle, shooting at him from the back. Chenle races over to them. He slices through Mark’s handcuffs and grabbing Jisung’s wrist.

“We need to get out of here, now.” He begins to pull Jisung along, taking his own blaster and turning to shoot the men behind them. 

They’re almost at the hangar. Jisung can see Jeno waving them forward when suddenly there’s a searing, unbearable pain in Jisung’s side. 

Jisung drops to the ground, a scream leaving his throat. It feels like his whole abdomen is on fire as he desperately wraps his arms around himself. It’s the worst pain he’s ever felt in his life. He can’t think, he can't move. All he can feel is fire, as if someone is stabbing him repeatedly with a hot knife. 

“Jisung!” Someone shrieks in front of him. But Jisung can’t tell who it is. 

Everything is fuzzy. Jisung is beginning to lose his grasp on consciousness. He tries to speak, tries to reply, but all he can manage is a weak whimper before he succumbs to the darkness, letting the pain swallow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ouch, sorry jisungie  
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	7. Obvious Epiphanies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chenle thinks the worst thing he has ever heard is Jisung’s scream as he watches the younger drop to the ground. 
> 
> They shot Jisung. 

Chenle thinks the worst thing he has ever heard is Jisung’s scream as he watches the younger drop to the ground. 

They shot Jisung. 

Chenle’s chest  _ hurts _ , it hurts so bad, but the pain he’s feeling in his heart is nothing compared to what Jisung’s experiencing right now. He moves like lightning, shooting every man in his vicinity before dropping in front of Jisung. He debates setting his blaster to kill, but keeps it on stun. 

“Jisung!” He shrieks. Jisung whimpers softly before toppling over onto the floor. He presses shaking hands to Jisung’s wound, trying to keep blood in his body. 

“Jeno, Jeno help!” Chenle turns to where his friend is standing at the doorway. Jeno is stronger than Chenle is, he’ll be able to lift Jisung. 

Jeno hurries over, kneeling to scoop Jisung into his arms. 

Jisung is limp. His side is covered in blood. They need to leave. 

Chenle steps into the hangar and fires rapidly, knocking out everyone in the vicinity. 

“Jaemin, we need you here, now,” Jeno says behind him, likely talking to his wrist piece. 

On cue, Chenle’s ship lands in the bay. The three of them sprint to it. Chenle sends Jeno in the ship first, before pulling Mark onto the ship by the wrist. He slams the button to close the ship’s loading bay and sprints up to the cabin, getting them into the air in seconds. 

Once they’re a safe distance from the jail, Chenle sets the ship on autopilot. He turns in his chair. His hands are covered in blood. 

Jaemin, Jeno, and Mark are all sitting around the cockpit, Jaemin and Jeno on one bench and Mark on the other. 

“Where is he?” Chenle asks, voice trembling. 

“He’s in your cabin. I wrapped his wound and set him down. We’re going to need to visit a surgeon.” 

“I know one,” Mark says. “We can—” 

“I told you,” Chenle interrupts, staring directly at Jeno and Jaemin. 

“I told you he wasn’t ready, I told you he wasn’t and you didn’t listen to me.” His voice rises with each word. He would be worried about Jisung waking up, except he’s more worried about the exact opposite. 

“I told you he wasn’t ready!” He shouts, coming to his feet. “I told you he wasn’t ready and you ignored me and now he’s been shot!” 

“Chenle,” Jeno says softly, standing as well. 

“You didn’t listen to me! He might die. He could die and it’d be all because you didn’t listen to me! He’s just a kid, he’s seventeen, and now he might die because, because you didn’t listen!” He yells. His chest hurts. It feels like his heart is going to explode. He’s never hurt this bad and all he can think is how Jisung is in so much more pain, so much worse pain. It hurts. 

“Chenle, I’m sorry about Jisung,” Jeno says. Jaemin sits next to him, looking guilty. 

“This is all your fault,” Chenle says quieter, a tear slips down his cheek. 

“This is all  _ my  _ fault,” his voice cracks. 

“I said I would protect him, I swore I would protect him and I failed,” he cries. 

“Chenle,” Jeno walks over to him and pulls him into a hug. 

Usually Chenle would push him away; because of their past, because of everything. But they were friends, they used to be close, and Chenle is too hurt to care. 

So he cries. He buries his face in the crook of Jeno’s neck and sobs. It’s ugly and snotty and his chest hurts and he misses his Jisungie and god, he just feels so, so bad. 

But it’s nothing compared to what Jisung’s going through. He needs to find that surgeon. 

He pulls away after a minute or so, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, collecting himself. 

“Mark, what are the coordinates for that surgeon?” 

* * * 

The flight to find the surgeon is quiet. 

Nobody says a word. They all just sit in silence, save for Chenle’s sniffles. At some point he hands the controls to Jeno and goes back to stay with Jisung, who still hasn’t woken up. 

He takes a seat on the bed, sitting carefully as not to jostle his injury. 

Jisung looks almost peaceful in his sleep, but Chenle can’t imagine the pain he’s in. He brushes a hand through his hair. 

“Hey, Jisungie,” he whispers. He brings his hand down from his hair to hold Jisung’s hand instead. He rubs his thumb against the back of his hand. 

Jisung, as expected, doesn’t say anything. Chenle ignores the tears in his eyes, instead leaning down and pressing a long kiss to Jisung’s forehead. 

His heart is beating fast in his chest, in a way Chenle doesn’t understand. He doesn’t have time to figure out what it means. 

He lets go of Jisung’s hand to close the door, the others being loud outside of it. He goes back to sit on the bed again. This time, he takes Jisung’s hand in his left. With his right, he brushes his fingers through Jisung’s hair. 

He stays there for a while, talking nonsensically, telling Jisung about various experiences he’s had, just like that day at the market. He barely notices when he starts crying again. 

A knock at the door. 

“Come in,” Chenle says weakly. 

“Hey, Lele,” Jaemin says, opening the door. He smiles at him gently. 

“We’re at the surgeon’s place. Mark went in to say hi. Jeno’s ready to carry Jisung if you need him to.” 

Chenle nods. “Yes, please.”

He’s so scared. 

Jeno enters the room shortly after, pulling back the blanket to slip his arms under Jisung’s back and knees. The bandage around his abdomen is soaked with blood. 

“Hang in there, Jisung,” Jeno mutters, carrying him out of the room. 

Chenle follows like a lost puppy. They exit the ship and head into a large building, taking the elevator up to the top floor, where Jeno walks down the hall and enters a room to the left. 

Chenle follows. Jeno sets Jisung down on a large, white table slowly, careful not to bump him. 

Chenle looks around, craning his neck to try to spot the doctor. A white curtain at the side of the room opens and a man walks through. 

He’s more of a boy, really, if Chenle goes by his smaller stature. He has metallic blond hair and rounded rectangular spectacles hanging off his nose. He wears a white doctor’s coat over slacks and he’s holding a tray of tools, all looking very sharp. 

Chenle feels like he’s gonna pass out. 

He reaches Jisung and sets down the tray. He puts on blue gloves, snapping the latex at his wrist, once on each side. 

“Everyone,” Mark clears his throat. “This is Renjun.” He gestures to the boy. 

Renjun gives a small wave, surveying the room with a piercing gaze. He begins unwrapping Jisung’s bandage. Chenle takes one peek at the wound and stumbles back. It’s garish. 

“You, orange head, no boyfriends allowed in the room.” 

Chenle snaps out of his stupor, looking at Renjun in shock. 

“I’m not his boyfriend.” 

Renjun simply raises an eyebrow, a sly smile on his face. 

“You mean you aren’t in love with him?”

“I, I uh.” Chenle doesn’t have a response. What?

“Well, whatever you are, in denial or dating, get out. This isn’t going to be easy to watch.” 

“Come on, Chenle,” Jaemin says, gently taking his hand to pull him out of the room. Chenle wants to cry. He just wants to make sure nothing happens to Jisung. 

Jaemin closes the door behind them, pulling Chenle to the side. 

“Oh, Chenle, don’t cry,” Jaemin mutters, wiping tears off Chenle’s face. Chenle didn’t even realize he’d started crying. 

“I’m in love with him?” Chenle whispers. 

Chenle’s always adored Jisung, always. Ever since that first day he crash landed on Vesnia, back before he quit the resistance—before he even joined the resistance. Something always drew him back. Maybe it was Jisung’s cute smile, or his laugh, or the way banter between the two of them just flowed so easily. Maybe it was the greater force of the universe that brought them together, that kept bringing Chenle back to that little shop. No, Jisung’s little shop didn’t have the best technology, and he could get better services elsewhere, but Jisung wasn’t elsewhere. So back he went, always. Slowly, those little shop visits became the point of everything. It was always when would he see Jisung next? When would he get to go back to that little shop? If he damaged his ship more, he would get to see Jisung longer. He always paid him well, so he doesn’t feel bad about it. 

Somehow, in the grand scheme of things, Jisung became the center of his universe. Over the past two years, this young ship repair boy became such a large part of his life. Chenle had never felt pain in the way he did when Jisung was shot, or fear like that. Chenle lives life fearless, but right now he’s more scared than ever. The prospect of losing Jisung, of loving Jisung, scares him in a way he can’t describe. 

“Oh, my god, I’m in love with him,” Chenle whispers, sliding to the floor. He brings his knees up to his chest and hugs them tight. 

“I’m in love with him and I might lose him.” His voice breaks. Jaemin crouches in front of him. 

“Chenle, he’s going to be okay,” Jaemin says, voice calm. He places a hand on his shoulder. 

“But what if he isn’t?” A tear drips down Chenle’s cheek. 

Jaemin takes his hands and pulls him to his feet. 

“We’ve been friends for a while, yeah? You trust me.” 

Chenle nods. 

“Then trust me when I tell you that he’ll be okay. I promise.” He smiles confidently. 

Chenle just pathetically opens his arms, letting Jaemin step into them and pull Chenle close to his chest. He holds the younger tight, reminding him over and over that Jisung will be okay. 

After a while, the pair go back to sit on the floor, and Chenle rests his head on Jaemin’s shoulder, finally relaxing, with the older’s arm around him. 

“Rest, Chenle,” Jaemin says, voice deep and calming. 

Chenle lets his eyes close and finally drifts off to sleep. 

* * * 

Jisung wakes up with a dull ache in his stomach. The ache quickly flares up, becoming a larger spot of pain as he regains consciousness. 

He groans, slowly blinking his eyes open. 

There are lots of people hovering over him. Someone turns. 

“Chenle! He’s waking up!” The boy in question calls. Jisung squints. His head hurts, he can’t make anyone out. 

“Jisung!” Someone calls, someone more familiar. 

Chenle comes into view, pushing aside one of the boys ( _ Jeno,  _ his mind supplies) at his right to stand over him. 

“Oh, Jisungie,” Chenle says, reaching over and taking his hands. 

“Lele,” Jisung says, weakly. 

“Jiji, you scared me so much,” Chenle whispers. He lets go of one of Jisung’s hands to bring his own hand up to Jisung’s face, cupping it gently. 

Jisung musters a smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get shot.” 

“You dummy,” Chenle huffs, a tear dripping from his eye, “of course you didn’t mean to get shot.” 

Jisung smiles easier. He lifts his hand to wipe the tear from Chenle’s cheek. He’s never seen Chenle cry before, and he realizes he never wants to see him cry again. 

“Alright, lovebirds, Jisung needs another shot of painkillers. Step back, orangey,” the doctor says. 

The doctor smiles at Jisung kindly, taking his right arm and sticking a needle in it. 

“Now you,” the doctor says, removing the needle. “You have to be careful, I don’t want to see you in another week because you did something stupid and opened your stitches.” 

The doctor presses a small package in Chenle’s hands. 

“Make sure he takes these every three hours for two weeks, otherwise the pain will become unbearable. After two weeks, take them every six hours for one week. By then it should be better. If he’s still having problems, call me.” Chenle nods, taking in the information. 

“Renjun, are you sure you won’t come with us?” Jeno asks. 

“I’m sorry, Jeno, but your job is saving the galaxy. My job is here, saving the individual.” 

“But,” he smiles, “I wish you the best of luck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohohoho  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


	8. Oh Look Some Fools in Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They take two weeks off. 
> 
> They do nothing, just float around in space to give Jisung time to heal. It’s Chenle’s order.
> 
> Jisung hates it.

They take two weeks off. 

They do nothing, just float around in space to give Jisung time to heal. It’s Chenle’s order. He insists they can’t risk getting in any danger with someone seriously injured. Jisung is unhappy about it, but he spends most of the first week asleep or in a daze, so he can’t really complain. Jaemin doesn’t seem to mind, content with staying on the ship. Jeno is moderately annoyed, whining about the resistance the whole time, while Mark seems to be passive in it all, much like Jaemin.

At some point they stop by the market for more food, and as badly as Jisung wants to go, Chenle refuses, instead sending Jaemin and Mark down to get supplies. 

Being shot sucks, big time. It hurts constantly, he can’t move around on his own, and everyone’s babying him. 

At first he just felt sorry for himself, and ashamed. He had gotten seriously hurt, he needed surgery. He felt really crummy about it, as if he was dragging the team down. Jaemin and Chenle were quick to assure him otherwise. 

Jaemin, he’s warmed up to. Jeno and Mark not as much. Mark has tried talking with him numerous times, but Jisung would be lying if he said he isn’t still scared of lizard man. 

Anyways, after a while he stopped feeling bad about it and began feeling more irritable. 

Mostly because everyone’s babying him. 

For the first week he didn’t mind because he genuinely couldn’t do shit, but by the second week he was able to walk again; he could pick stuff up, he could function normally.

Chenle is by far the worst about it, and seemingly getting worse as time goes on. He’s constantly hovering over Jisung. When he walks around, Chenle is always right by him. When he drops stuff or needs to reach for something, Chenle offers to get it. It’s almost suffocating. 

The rest aren’t as bad, but Jisung has a breaking point. 

It finally comes when Jisung drops his wrench on the ground for the fifth time that week. It’s not his fault he has nothing to do so he keeps fiddling with it. He leans over to pick it up. Something he is perfectly capable of doing. Does it hurt a little bit? Yes. Can he do it just fine? Also yes. 

“Oh! Jisungie, I can help you get it.” Chenle is by his side in an instant, picking up the wrench and handing it to him. 

“Chenle, please! I love you, but really I can get it myself! I don’t need you hovering over me all the time! I don’t need to be babied.” Jisung snaps. He’s tired of being babied. 

Chenle freezes, a hurt look on his face. Jisung immediately regrets his words. 

“Wait, no, fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, I’m just irritable because of this stupid bullet wound and I’m tired of being babied and just, I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have snapped,” Jisung blurts, desperate to get that look off Chenle’s face. 

“Which part?” Chenle asks. 

Jisung furrows his brows. 

“Which part didn’t you mean?” 

Jisung is even more confused. “Chenle, what do you mean?” 

“You just said you love me.” 

Oh fuck. 

It is true. Jisung realized a while ago what his feelings for Chenle had developed into, after a conversation with Jaemin.

It wasn’t some big drastic realization. He knew he had feelings for Chenle and he knew there was a very high chance they’d develop further. It didn’t surprise him. He loved Chenle, it was simple as that. 

But he hadn’t meant to say it out loud, much less tell Chenle.

“I’m, I, did I really say that part out loud? Like out loud, out loud? Like you heard it out loud?” 

Chenle smiles slightly. “Yes, Jisung, you did.” 

“Did you mean it?” Chenle asks nervously. He fiddles with his fingers. 

Jisung’s mouth is dry. He doesn’t know what to say. He wasn’t ready to confess, but he doesn’t like to lie, so …

He nods, looking at the ground. He plays with his fingers in his lap. 

He waits for Chenle to yell at him, or smack him, or simply just walk away.

What he doesn’t expect is for Chenle to help him to his feet and gently pull him into a big hug. 

“I’m in love with you, Jisung Park.” 

No fucking way. 

“You’re kidding,” Jisung says, pulling away. He stares at Chenle in shock. 

Chenle shakes his head. “Not kidding.” There’s a bright smile on his face. 

“I realized while you were in surgery. Renjun, the surgeon, made some comment and I realized how much you mean to me.” 

Jisung just hugs him again, chest bursting with emotion. Chenle loves him, just like he loves Chenle. Never in a million lightyears would he have expected that. They stay like that for a while, just holding each other. 

“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” Jisung says, hit with a wave of guilt. 

Chenle pulls away and smirks. “Oh, don’t be. If you hadn’t then you wouldn’t have confessed.” 

Jisung groans. “I can’t believe I confessed on accident.” 

Chenle laughs brightly. “It was cute. Besides, now we can be boyfriends!” Chenle exclaims excitedly. He grabs Jisung’s hands. 

Jisung’s eyes widen. “Boyfriends?” 

Chenle nods rapidly. “Boyfriends.” 

“That’s …” Jisung is unsure what to say. “Cool.” 

Chenle pouts. “You don’t sound excited.” 

“I am excited, it’ll register later.” Jisung shrugs. Chenle just rolls his eyes fondly. 

“You lovebirds done?” Jaemin calls from down the hall. That’s when Jisung remembers they’re still in the cockpit of the ship, right in front of the control panel under the stars. 

He vaguely recalls Jaemin ushering Jeno and Mark out of the room after Jisung first snapped at Chenle. 

He winces. He still feels bad about that. 

Chenle fixes Jisung with an odd stare, one that makes his heart skip a beat. He presses a kiss to Jisung’s cheek. 

“We’re done, you guys can come back,” Chenle shouts. 

Jisung is in shock. He sits down in the copilot seat, face on fire. 

“Chenle, I think you broke him,” Jeno laughs. Chenle rolls his eyes, he takes a seat in his chair, buckling his seatbelt. 

Somehow Jeno and Chenle seem to be a lot closer than they did before everything happened. At the same time, Jaemin and Mark seem to have gotten close as well, considering they’re sharing a bench now. 

Man, you get shot by one bullet and suddenly you’re completely out of the loop. 

“So what next?” Jaemin asks. Their two weeks of rest are up. 

“I think we should visit the resistance.” Mark crosses his arms. 

“No way.” Chenle turns his chair around. 

“I’m not going back there again. I’m done with the resistance and if you had any sense you’d quit, too.” 

“Chenle, we’ve had this conversation. I’m not quitting.” 

“But why not?” Chenle presses. “They’re immoral. Leader Chen doesn’t care about individual lives.” 

Jeno simply sighs. 

Chenle scoffs. “You’re too loyal for your own good. Look around you, Jeno, I’ve saved more lives alone in three months than the resistance did in two years!”

“So what am I supposed to do? Just walk in and be like ‘oh hey Chen, I quit!’ and then leave?” Jeno snaps back. 

“Yes! That would work perfectly!” 

Jeno doesn’t say anything. Chenle huffs, spinning his chair back around. 

Jisung wonders why he doesn’t bug Mark as well, but he supposes that Chenle and Mark just aren’t as close. 

“We’ll go, but it’s in the far northern quadrant so everyone hold on tight.” 

Jisung buckles his seatbelt just in time as Chenle reaches forward and pulls down the lever for hyperspace. In seconds, they’re off. Jisung is pushed back into his seat as the ship flies forward. 

Just as fast as it started, it’s over. Jisung’s head is spinning, and he has to take a second to catch his breath. He closes his eyes until the room stays still. 

“You good, Ji?” A hand lands softly on his knee. Jisung nods, opening his eyes. 

He will never get used to that. 

The rest are relatively unphased, except Mark, who looks rather green, his cheeks matching his scales. 

“Damn, Mark, two months out of space and suddenly you can’t take a little hyperspace?” Jeno remarks. 

“Shut up,” Mark grumbles. Jeno laughs loudly, while Jaemin pats Mark’s back kindly. 

“Chenle, you remember how to find it?” Jeno asks, pretending to wipe a tear. 

Chenle just nods. His lips are pursed tight. Jisung looks at him worriedly. Chenle catches his stare, giving a small smile, but Jisung can tell it’s forced. 

They approach a large, reddish orange planet, but instead of landing, they fly towards its moon. The moon is small. As they fly over it Jisung can see violently crashing waves, tall and white-tipped. He gulps. 

They fly around the moon. As they reach the other side, land comes into view. Chenle pulls another lever and turns the steering wheel hard to the right. Jisung is confused. There’s nothing on the surface of the moon. 

However, just as they enter the moon’s atmosphere, a large building appears. Around the building are many various tents. Jisung strains, but no matter how hard he looks, there aren’t any people. 

They land a bit off from the building. Jeno offers to carry Jisung piggyback if he gets tired. Jisung simply nods, knowing he doesn’t plan at all to take the offer. 

They walk out of the ship and immediately Jisung is hit with a spray of cold water. He looks to his right to find the ocean is right next to them, waves crashing down against the rocks that border it. Jisung is silently worried about the ship’s safety but he doesn’t say anything, trusting Chenle to have considered where they landed. 

The ground is dark and rocky, there is no grass and no dirt. 

The ocean is even larger and scarier up close. Jisung shudders when he sees a large fin slice through the waves. A hand slips into his. 

“Don’t worry, Ji, we won’t be anywhere near the ocean.” Chenle pulls him down to speak quietly to him. 

They approach the town rather quickly, Jisung ignores the dull ache in his midsection. 

“Jisung,” Chenle begins. Jisung shakes his head. 

“It’s fine, Chenle.”

“I can see it on your face, Jiji. Just let Jeno piggyback you until we get there. We’re only halfway there,” Chenle says, stern but gentle. 

Jisung looks down at Chenle, who pleads with his eyes. 

Jisung sighs. “Fine.” 

Chenle’s face lights up. “Thanks, Ji.” 

“Jeno!” Chenle calls. Jeno, who was leading a couple feet ahead of them next to Mark and Jaemin, stops. He turns around and walks over to Jisung who, by now, has a hand on his stomach. 

“Hop on, kid,” Jeno says, turning around and crouching. Jisung clambers onto his back, wrapping an arm around his neck. Jeno straightens, holding onto Jisung’s thighs. Jisung immediately relaxes, able to curl over. The pain eases. 

“It’s okay, Jiji, we’ll be there soon,” Chenle says, landing a hand on his back. 

Jisung doesn’t like it, but he does feel better now, and the pain was getting bad. So he concedes. 

Jisung watches the ocean as they walk, as the waves crash over and over again into the rocks. There’s a large creature in there, one Jisung doesn’t want to meet. He’s seen its fin twice, but nothing was as jarring as the pair of piercing yellow eyes that met his. 

The city—town? Jisung isn’t sure what to call it. It’s quiet. They approach the large building, but there don’t seem to be any people inside.

“Where is everyone?” Jaemin asks, looking around in wonder. Jisung has the same question. 

It’s barren. There are no signs of life. 

Something small and blue darts across the path in front of them. Jeno stops in his tracks. Jisung peers over his shoulder. 

At the edge of the path is a small, blue lizard. It has large eyes with slit pupils, and it seems to be staring directly at Jisung.

“Hello,” Jisung says instinctively. 

The lizard’s tongue darts out, flicking through the air. It turns and races forward down the road. 

“Let’s follow it,” Mark says, hurrying forward after it. The rest follow. 

The lizard is fast, and Jisung is glad he’s on Jeno’s back instead of struggling to run and keep up. 

The lizard darts into one of the tents. Mark is quick to enter it as well. 

“Ah!” Mark yells. 

“Mark?” Jeno calls. 

“Taeyong!” Mark exclaims. 

Jisung and Jeno enter the tent, Jisung lifting the flap. 

Instead of the small blue lizard stands a tall man with black and blue hair. He has dark eyes and a bright smile on his face. In his arms is Mark, who looks the happiest Jisung’s seen yet. 

“Taeyong!” Jeno says excitedly. He kneels, letting Jisung clamber off his back. 

Jisung stumbles, but is caught by a firm grip on his upper arms. He turns to see his boyfriend ( _ hehe boyfriend _ ) smiling at him. 

“Thanks, Lele,” Jisung says, smiling back. 

“Taeyong, where is everyone?” Jeno asks. Jisung turns to look back at what’s unfolding in front of him. 

Taeyong sighs deeply. 

“The resistance,” he grimaces, “has fallen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Look Some Fools in Love   
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


	9. Not To Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What?” Jeno’s eyes widen in shock. 
> 
> “You’re kidding, Taeyong, what?” 
> 
> Taeyong sighs. “Sit,” he orders, taking a seat on the cloth covered floor of the tent. They do so. 
> 
> “Leader Chen is dead.” 

“What?” Jeno’s eyes widen in shock. 

“You’re kidding, Taeyong, what?” 

Taeyong sighs. “Sit,” he orders, taking a seat on the cloth covered floor of the tent. They do so. 

“Leader Chen is dead.” 

“ _ What? _ ” Jeno looks devastated. Mark stares at the ground. Even Chenle, who was badmouthing him not two hours ago, looks regretful. 

“He died in battle. I’m sorry, Jen, I know you were loyal to him, and you cared about him.” 

Jeno doesn’t say anything. 

“I was to lead next,” Taeyong begins. He takes a deep breath.

“But the resistance is too corrupt, so I dissolved it.” 

“But, but, Taeyong you could’ve rebuilt it,” Jeno argues, distressed. “You didn’t have to break it up.” Jeno looks crestfallen. 

“I did, Jen. It was doing more harm than good. It was bringing people false hope.” 

“But some hope is better than none,” Jeno argues. 

“Chenle is bringing more hope,” Taeyong replies softly. 

Chenle looks up from his lap, eyes widened in surprise. 

“We would do better solo than under one leader or direction. We can still share supplies, information and resources, but being under one leader has proven ineffective. We’ve barely done anything to actually help, and the resistance became too corrupt. We need to be doing this because of our own moral drives, not just because someone tells us to do something,” Taeyong explains. 

“You should join Chenle. You too, Mark,” Taeyong says. His gaze travels across the room, lingering on Jisung. 

Chenle reaches to place a hand on Jeno’s knee. 

“Please, Jeno,” he says quietly. 

Jeno sighs. “Taeyong, I really don’t think this is the best way to go about things.” 

Chenle’s face turns to one more unpleasant, but he doesn’t retract his hand. 

“I know, Jeno. But you need to think. Do you still want to help people? Do you still want to make a difference? That’s why you joined the resistance in the first place, is it not?” 

Jeno pauses, looking down at his lap. Jisung watches as he glances at Chenle’s hand. 

“I do still want to make a difference,” he says after a couple minutes. 

“The best way to make a difference right now would be joining Chenle,” Taeyong says, smiling warmly. 

Jeno makes a face. “Do I have to join him?” 

Chenle frowns. 

Taeyong sighs. “No, you don’t have to join him, but I would highly recommend it.” 

“Fine.” Jeno nods. “But only because Taeyong said so.” 

Chenle’s face lights up in a small smile all the same. “Thank you.” 

“And Chenle,” Taeyong says, his tone dark. “They’re searching, stay vigilant.” 

Jisung looks to Chenle in confusion. There’s fear in his boyfriend’s eyes. 

Chenle simply slips his hand into Jisung’s. 

“I will, thank you.” 

Taeyong peers through the flap of the tent.

“You should go, there’s a storm coming.” 

Chenle nods. His face has shifted to a look of determination. 

“Thank you, Taeyong. Best of luck.” 

“You too, Chenle.” 

* * * 

The rain is already heavy by the time they make it to the ship. Waves crash against the shore, getting dangerously close to the ship’s legs. 

“Hurry!” Jeno shouts. Jisung is back on his back. 

They hurry into the ship, closing the hangar door behind them. Chenle is quick to the wheel. He buckles in just as water crashes into the ship, knocking it onto the ground. Jeno stumbles, gripping hard onto Jisung’s legs, but he catches himself. Jaemin and Mark are not so lucky. Mark grabs Jaemin in a heartbeat, protecting the two of them as they fall. 

“Shit!” Chenle yells. He tries to start up the ship, only for the red emergency light to turn on. 

The ship isn’t moving. 

“Jisung, Jisung quick,” Chenle’s tone is panicked. Jisung slips off Jeno’s back, running over to Chenle. 

“Jaemin, grab his toolbox from the storage unit downstairs,” Chenle orders. 

Jisung kneels to open up the panel in front of the internals of the control panel. His heart pounds in his chest. He has to fix this ship. 

He pulls his ⅜ wrench from his pocket. He spots the broken wire immediately. Luckily that’s all it is, a broken wire. The outside of Chenle’s ship was strong, no water got in. The jostling must have been the issue. 

He undoes the inside panel holding a section of the wires. The break isn’t covered by the panel. Jaemin drops the toolbox next to him. Jisung grabs his soldering iron and solder, turning it on and willing for it to heat up faster. He twists the ends of the wire together. 

Another wave rocks the ship. Jisung would have slid towards the wall if not for his grip on the edge of the opening. The thin metal digs into his hands. He ignores it. 

The iron heats up. He sticks his head into the panel, flicking on the iron’s light and holding it up to the wire to seal the connection. Usually he’d finish fixing the wire with heat shrink, but he doesn’t have time. He messily wraps electrical tape around the wire. His hands are shaking. 

There’s a roar above him. He jolts, hitting his head on the metal of the panel. It hurts, but yet again he ignores it. He slips out of the control panel and rushes to the copilot’s chair. He can bolt the coverings back later. 

The second he looks up from the ship’s floor he regrets it. 

The largest creature he has ever seen looms over their ship. It has huge white eyes, teeth larger than Jisung himself. It’s covered in black scales, with a large, ribbed deep blue fin travelling down its back. It’s a large sea snake. 

“Those teeth are, like, 4 feet long!” Jaemin shouts. 

Okay, Jisung’s measurement may be wrong. 

The sea monster roars. Chills travel up Jisung’s spine. 

“Chenle, get us out of here!” Jeno shouts. 

Chenle is rapidly working the control panel, pressing all sorts of buttons. Something hits the ship, hard. They spin through the air, landing hard on the rough ground, crushing some of the tents. They fly far. Jisung’s seat belt digs into his neck as he flies from his seat. He grips the arms of his seat, trying to keep from flying out. Chenle still doesn’t have airbags in this ship. Dammit.

The second they land on ground, Chenle reaches for the far hyperspace lever. Jisung’s eyes widen. They aren’t even off the ground and Chenle’s going straight into hyperspace? That’s insane. Jisung’s never heard of someone going into hyperspace from within an atmosphere. It’s been done once, with drastic consequences. The traveller who did it ended up flying directly into a neighboring planet. That aside, it could tear the ship apart. 

And it’d be because Jisung couldn’t fix the engines correctly. 

“Chenle, what are you doing?” Jeno shouts.

“Saving our lives!” Chenle pulls the lever. 

The ship shudders to life, fire shooting from the blasters. It lifts into the air at incredible speed. They fly through the clouds and into space. The second they leave the atmosphere Chenle brings the lever back up, but they don’t leave hyperspace. 

“Fuck!” 

He shoves it back down and up again, then brings it down. Still nothing. 

Jisung unbuckles his seatbelt, using all his strength to push himself from the chair despite physics pushing back. Hard. 

“Jisung, what the fuck are you doing!” Chenle shouts. 

He crawls toward the opening in the panel, using Chenle’s chair to push himself to the siding. He pulls himself up and slips into the space under the control panel. 

He doesn’t have wire cutters on him. He only has his wrench. He has to break the right wire to stop hyperspace. 

The wires are hot to touch as Jisung fiddles through them, trying to find the right wire. He follows a red one up to the hyperspace switch. Power. He could cut power. He doesn’t have time to find the correct signal wire. 

He brings his wrench up, digging the corner into the wire. It doesn’t cut. 

“Fuck,” he hisses. The wires burn his fingers. He takes a deep breath. He reaches up and yanks the wire as hard as he can. The wire detaches. Immediately he feels the ship slow. 

Then it begins to fall. 

Someone pulls him out of the control panel, pulling him to the side. Chenle has his back to the siding. He pulls Jisung onto his lap and hugs him tight, arms wrapped around him protectively. 

Jisung watches as Jeno leaps from his spot at the bench, running towards the panel. The ship slows. 

“Jeno, you dumb fuck! Buckle yourself in!” Mark shouts. 

Jeno does exactly that, taking a seat and buckling the seatbelt. Just in time too. He grabs the steering wheel, yanking it up so that they land flat. 

The ship crashes into the ground. Chenle’s arms tighten around him as he buries his face in Jisung’s neck. 

Upon impact the entire ship shudders. They slam into the metal of the panel. Jisung squeezes his eyes shut, curling in on himself. He brings a hand up to cover the back of Chenle’s neck. 

The ship rumbles violently, flying forward still, bumping and rolling on the ground. It jostles up and down, side to side as it digs into the ground and creates a tunnel in its wake. The ship jerks to the right as Jeno yanks the steering wheel. Jisung and Chenle slide across the floor, slamming into the far wall. 

“Sorry!” Jeno shouts. 

The ship continues to grumble, bouncing and creaking as it slowly loses momentum.

After far too long, long enough for all of them to be bruised and dazed, they finally slow to a stop. 

Nobody moves for the first few seconds. 

“Zhong Chenle, you’re fucking insane,” Jeno says in awe. 

“Dude, what were you thinking?” Mark scolds. 

“I had to get us out of there and it wasn’t starting, we would’ve died.” Chenle releases Jisung, who clambers out of his lap and helps the older up. Jisung’s stomach turns. It was his fault. 

“And we just almost died.” Mark unbuckles himself and stands, stretching. 

“Yes, Mark, I know.” Chenle sounds annoyed. “I did my best to keep us alive.” 

“Yeah, and it’s thanks to Jeno that we didn’t die in that crash,” Mark snaps, clearly agitated. 

“Mark, relax.” Jaemin places a hand on Mark’s arm. Mark eases, sitting back down. 

The room is tense. Jeno is still in the pilot’s chair, while Chenle leans against the wall. Jisung retrieves his toolbox and heads back to the front of the ship. 

He sits down, picking up his flashlight and shining it in the ship. Quietly, he begins to work. 

“Jisung, why don’t you rest.” A gentle hand lands on his shoulder. He couldn’t fix the ship in the first place, he’s the reason they’re in this mess. 

Jisung shakes his head. All of the sudden he feels like crying. He needs to fix the ship. He has to make up for how badly he messed up. 

“Jisung.” Chenle kneels next to him. 

“Oh, Ji,” Chenle says softly. Chenle gently pulls Jisung away from the toolbox. 

“It isn’t your fault,” he whispers, pulling Jisung into his arms. Jisung leans into him, trying not to cry. 

“I went into hyperspace because we didn’t have enough time on solid ground to properly take off, even though the jets were fixed.” 

“Seriously?” Mark stands. 

“Mark, shut up!” Jeno snaps. Jaemin yanks Mark back down. 

“It isn’t your fault.” 

Jisung doesn’t say anything, he just clings to Chenle tighter. He doesn’t even bring up how Chenle protected him, yet he did nothing to protect Chenle. He feels bad for that, too. 

Chenle runs his fingers through Jisung’s hair. Jisung slowly relaxes, melting into his boyfriend. 

Their soft moment is interrupted by a loud knocking near the back of the ship. 

“Välde, open up.” A harsh voice commands. 

Fear shoots through him as he leaps to his feet. Chenle follows, grabbing Jisung’s hand. 

Jeno heads towards the back of the ship. 

Within minutes, they hear a loud yell, followed by more. Mark is quick to run and help, followed by Jaemin. Jisung and Chenle exchange a look before following as well. 

Which proves to be a mistake, as they find themselves severely outnumbered by guards, who have already apprehended Mark, Jeno and Jaemin. 

Chenle raises his hands slowly, nudging Jisung to do the same. Jisung follows his lead. 

“Good,” the guard says, “you kids are smart. Just go easily and no one gets hurt.” 

He grabs Chenle by the arm, yanking him off the ship’s platform roughly. He shoves Chenle’s hands behind his back to cuff them together. 

Jisung is about to walk forward when the guard in front of him drops to the ground. After he falls, Jisung makes out a dart in the back of his neck. 

The rest of the guards drop one by one, all seven of them to the ground. 

Jisung is looking around in awe when a figure drops in the middle of the circle of fallen guards. 

A boy, with tan skin and moles scattered along his face like stars, stands. He holds a blow dart in one hand and a blaster in the other. 

“Saw you needed some help,” a light voice says. 

“The name’s Donghyuck, welcome to Nadria.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> donghyuck !!!! he is here !!!!!!!! our love !!!!!!!!!!  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


	10. Also Not To Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Here.” Donghyuck leads them into a path to the left, bringing them through a door and into a rather spacious room. 
> 
> “Why did you take us here?” Mark asks, tone sharp.
> 
> “It’s the only place in the entire city where you’ll be safe,” Donghyuck says, grimacing.

Donghyuck is, to put it simply, really fucking cool. 

His entrance? Cool as fuck. The way he took out those guards? Cool as fuck. Even his outfit—which is all black and covered in pockets and weapons—is cool as fuck. 

He even has purple hair! And pointy ears! And he’s kinda green!! He reminds Jisung of elves from those old Earth books his mom made him read as a kid. Nadrians are cool. 

He takes them underground. They sneak into the back of a nearby building, then head to the basement. Once in the basement, Donghyuck opens a large cabinet in the wall, ushering them into it. 

It brings them to a small tunnel that they have to crawl through. That tunnel leads to a larger tunnel that looks suspiciously like a sewage tunnel. They’re able to stand, walking along the side. The center is a dirty canal. 

“Donghyuck, where are we going?” Mark asks. 

Donghyuck doesn’t turn around to reply. “Somewhere safe.” 

They continue to follow him.

“This guy is pretty cool,” Chenle whispers to Jisung, leaning over while they walk. 

Jisung nods. “Really cool.” 

Chenle slips his hand into Jisung’s, a cute gesture that makes his heart soar. 

“How’s your wound?” Chenle whispers again, loudly. Chenle kinda sucks at whispering. 

Jisung shrugs. “I just took a painkiller so it’s fine.” 

Chenle nods. “Are we almost there?” he asks again. At this point he might as well be asking everyone. 

“I’m not sure,” Jisung whispers quietly back. 

“You two done whispering?” Jeno turns to ‘whisper’ to them. He’s speaking obnoxiously loud on purpose with a whisper tone, eliciting laughs from Donghyuck and Jaemin. Mark, ever so serious, doesn’t laugh until Jaemin nudges him, telling him to loosen up. 

“And to answer your question, Chenle, we are almost there.” 

Chenle furrows his brows. “How do you know who I am?” 

Donghyuck turns to look at them, a smirk on his face.

“There aren’t many who don’t know who you are.” He turns back to continue walking. 

Jisung’s eyes widen at that. He didn’t realize Chenle was so known. There’s a small smile on Chenle’s face. 

“That makes me proud,” he says softly. “It means I’m bringing people hope, like Taeyong said.” 

“You sure are, kid, you sure are,” Donghyuck replies. 

The rest of the walk is in silence. 

“Here.” Donghyuck leads them into a path to the left, bringing them through a door and into a rather spacious room. 

There’s a table to the right of the room, surrounded by chairs. On the other side of the room are a couple of small couches and an old, cracked TV. 

“Let’s sit,” Donghyuck says. Jisung takes a seat at the right end of the table, Chenle on one side of him and Mark on his other.

“Why did you take us here?” Mark asks, tone sharp. 

“It’s the only place in the entire city where you’ll be safe,” Donghyuck says, grimacing.

“How long have the Välde been here?” Jeno asks, arms crossed on the table. 

“For a couple months now, three or four? But the The Defender is here now.” 

Chenle’s eyes widen. “The what?” 

“You heard me. That’s what people have started to call you.” 

“Woah,” Chenle whispers. 

“So.” Donghyuck pulls a pack of gum from his pocket, popping a piece in his mouth. “How do you do it?” 

Chenle gulps. A determined look falls upon his face. 

“It used to be easier, when I could go undercover. But now they know me, so it’s harder.” 

He leans back in his chair. 

“You need to find their ship and destroy it. They got here somehow, right?” 

Donghyuck loudly pops a bubble. 

“That’s easy enough, I know where they’ve been keeping their ships.” 

Chenle nods. “That’s perfect. Then you start taking back the jail. You’ll need to throw them in it after you take each empire soldier down. It’s a flawed plan, and most times you end up relying on the strength of the townsfolk as well. But it works, and that’s what matters.” 

Chenle makes eye contact with Donghyuck across the table. His gaze is so sharp Jisung is shocked that Donghyuck doesn’t flinch. 

“So you throw them in jail? It’s really that simple?” 

“Well, when you put it like that it sounds simple, but it isn’t always that easy,” Chenle scoffs. 

“Of course, of course.” Donghyuck seems to be pondering something. 

“So then what, wouldn’t it be easier to just send them away on their ship? Keeping them in the town could be dangerous.” 

“Or why don’t you kill them? That’s what the resistance did,” Mark pipes up. 

Chenle shakes his head. 

“I don’t kill. It’s against my beliefs.”

“And to Donghyuck’s question. No, because then they can come back with more, and stronger. Once you take them captive, destroy their communicators. The empire won’t know to send more immediately. It gives the town time to heal, prepare, be on guard for the next one.” 

Donghyuck pops another bubble. 

“The galaxy doesn’t know about this war, not yet. Most towns are jumped. Jisung’s town didn’t know until it was far too late.” 

Jisung winces.

“I like the way you think, Defender.” 

Chenle smiles. 

“Alright,” Donghyuck says, a tone of finality. 

“Rest for now, tomorrow morning we head out, and destroy their ship.”

* * * 

Jisung can’t sleep. 

He stares at the cracking ceiling, wishing he were back on Chenle’s ship. 

Chenle said not to blame himself, but he can’t help it. It’s largely his fault. Maybe if he hadn’t tried to tear the wire with the wrench, they wouldn’t have crashed. Or maybe if he fixed the initial fault faster. Or maybe if he took initiative to rewire the hyperspace lever ages ago. 

There’s so much he could’ve done. 

The room is quiet, save for Donghyuck’s quiet snores. They’re using a variety of sleeping bags and thin mattresses, ones Donghyuck saved. 

He told them there used to be more helping him, sneaking around, helping civilians, doing anything they could to protect the people of the city from the Välde. But they were captured and killed. 

The Välde are cruel and ruthless. They aren’t afraid to kill. 

That only adds to why Jisung respects Chenle so much, because he won’t kill. Jisung really does love the boy who’s currently sleeping next to him. 

Or at least he thinks he’s sleeping. 

But then Chenle stirs. Jisung goes to say something but pauses when Chenle calls out. 

“Jen!” He whisper-shouts. “Are you still up?” 

“Yeah,” Jeno whispers back. Jisung closes his eyes. 

“I need to talk to you.” Chenle slips out from under the covers, leaving Jisung without the warmth next to him. 

“What’s up?” Jeno asks. 

He hears Chenle sigh. “Look, um, I’m sorry for how I acted towards you before. I was just upset you wouldn’t join me. And I’m really sorry for quitting without talking to you about it first.” 

“Oh.” He sounds surprised. “I wasn’t expecting that. I mean, it was pretty uncool of you.” 

Chenle sighs. “I know, Jen. I’m sorry.” 

“I guess it’s alright. I mean. I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it and I’m not as upset as I used to be. So I guess In that case I’m sorry for blaming you about Mark, and for making you help me break him out of prison.” 

Chenle snorts. “I’m not upset about that anymore.” 

“But more importantly, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. You had your reasons and they were more than valid. I was being inhumane.” 

“I’ve missed you, Jen.” 

He hears hands patting backs. “I’ve missed you too.” 

Chenle slips back under the covers next to him, and an arm wraps around Jisung’s waist as Chenle hugs him from behind. 

Slowly, Jisung drifts into a dreamless sleep. 

He’s woken up by Donghyuck some hours later. The older boy loudly wakes them all up by yelling and hitting them with pillows. He starts with Jeno, who, for whatever reason, doesn’t seem to mind. 

Weird. 

“It’s go time, ladies, get up, come on,” Donghyuck nags, smacking Jeno with the pillow again. Said victim simply rolls over, burying his face in his own pillow, which Donghyuck promptly snatches away. Jeno groans loudly. 

“Really, dude? You suck.” Jeno sits up, rubbing at his eyes. 

Jisung makes sure to sit up before Donghyuck can get to him. He gently shakes his still-sleeping boyfriend awake. He stirs, blinking up at Jisung cutely before pushing himself up.

“Come on!” Donghyuck whacks poor Jeno again. This time, Jeno reaches over, grabbing Jaemin’s pillow and smacking Donghyuck back. Donghyuck looks shocked, but recovers quickly. Jaemin, whose head just hit the floor rather unpleasantly, has sat up as well, and is glaring at Jeno. 

Mark, who’s already on his feet, reaches to help Jaemin up. 

They all meander to sit around the same table as the night before. Donghyuck walks over to a fridge, bringing food out of it. 

“Alright, while we eat, let’s discuss today’s plan.” Donghyuck throws a red fruit at Jeno. He catches it, sticking his tongue out childishly. 

“First we destroy their ship, yeah?” He looks to Chenle, who nods. 

“Great, it’s on the other side of town. We’ll have to sneak through the town, it’s faster.” 

“We’ll go after we finish eating?” Mark asks, biting into a weird red fruit like the one Donghyuck threw at Jeno. 

Chenle hands him one of the fruits. Jisung sniffs it. It smells sweet. Cautiously, he takes a bite. It’s got a crisp, tart flavor to it. Jisung likes it.

“That’s an apple, they’re from Earth,” Chenle whispers. Jisung nods, giving a thumbs up. He likes apples. 

They finish up breakfast quickly, and before Jisung knows it, Donghyuck is leading them back through the sewers again, until they reach a ladder and stop. 

“Up here,” Donghyuck whispers. Jisung is third up the ladder, following Chenle who’s behind Donghyuck. Jisung clambers through the hole only to find them not in the streets like he was expecting, but in someone’s yard. 

“Into this house.” Donghyuck waves. He walks into the house. Jisung follows him through the door. Just on the other side, sitting at his dining room table, sits a man. The man has pale bluish skin and dark blue hair. He doesn’t appear to be Nadrian like Donghyuck, and Jisung isn’t quite sure what he is. 

Jisung is instantly on guard, reaching for the small knife Donghyuck had given him the night before. 

Donghyuck seems relaxed. He greets the man with a wave. The man looks up from his book and stands. He has pointed ears like Donghyuck, but paler skin. 

“Doyoung? What are you doing here?” Jeno says from behind him. Jisung turns. Jeno, Chenle, and Mark all look very surprised.

“Jeno!” The man—Doyoung—exclaims. He brightens, walking over to Jeno and pulling him into a hug. 

“And Mark, Chenle, it’s nice to see you.” He pulls away, letting Jeno breathe. Jeno looks the happiest that Jisung has seen yet. 

“Doyoung, it’s so good to see you!” Jeno says.

Doyoung smiles good-naturedly. 

“I came here after the resistance fell. Who are your new friends?” 

Jeno smiles. “This is Jisung,” he gestures towards Jisung, “and the one with the blue hair is Jaemin.” 

A shadow flickers over Doyoung’s face, but in a second it’s gone and he’s smiling brightly again. 

“Nice to meet you guys, I hope you’ve been taking care of these idiots well. Especially Mark.” 

“Doyoung,” Mark whines. 

Jaemin throws an arm around Mark’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’ve got him,” he says with a wink. Mark’s cheeks turn red. 

Jisung will definitely have to ask Jaemin about that later. 

“Chenle, how’ve you been? I’ve heard all about what you’ve been doing,” Doyoung says. 

Chenle looks surprised. “You aren’t upset that I quit?” 

“Well, we all were at first, but Taeyong stood up for you. And once Chen died, he disbanded us on the same grounds as when you left.” 

“But that’s not important. Donghyuck told me about your plan, I’ll get you guys to the ship.”

Doyoung leads them out the back of the house, taking them through alleyways and side streets. Jisung is both terrified and in awe. On the one hand, he feels super cool, sneaking around like a secret agent. But on the other hand, he’s terrified of getting caught. 

Jisung does think, though, that he’s gotten a little braver than he used to be. This would have terrified him two months ago. 

Has he really been in space for that long? It feels like it’s been years. 

He’s knocked out of his train of thought when a red laser hits the wall two inches away from his face. 

He whips his head to his right, finding himself staring directly at a Välde soldier. 

Another laser flies towards him, but it’s intercepted by a flash of white light. Heart pounding in his chest, he looks to see Chenle’s arm extended, luxtro in hand. 

“Donghyuck! You finish taking them there, I’ll hold these guys off.” Doyoung procures a long staff from his back, spinning it threateningly. 

“Let’s go!” Donghyuck shouts, grabbing Jeno’s wrist and pulling as he begins to run. The rest follow him. They sprint into the open roads—they’ve already been spotted—and run down the main street, swerving through pedestrians and soldiers. Weird, squarish, spaceship-like vehicles race through the center of the street. Jisung only remembers seeing them in the pages of the Earth magazines from his father. 

Jisung stumbles as the pavement cracks, but he’s caught by a hand on his upper arm. His stomach aches. 

“We’re almost there!” Donghyuck shouts. Jisung looks around. They’ve been sprinting for at least ten minutes, and he can tell he’s not the only one who’s starting to get tired. The only people who don’t seem to be tired at all are Jeno and Chenle. 

Donghyuck leads them into what seems to be a parking garage. He leads them around the corner and to a staircase. 

Fuck, really? Stairs? Jisung is not a fan of this. 

“Really? Stairs?” Jaemin groans, flailing his arms. Donghyuck laughs. 

“Suck it up, let’s go.” 

They go up the staircase. It sucks, and by the time they reach the top of the thirty-four fucking stories Jisung’s legs are burning and his wound still hurts. 

“Why the fuck couldn’t we have taken the elevator!” Mark exclaims, glaring at Donghyuck. Donghyuck just shrugs. 

“Not supposed to use it during emergencies.” 

Jisung has no idea what an elevator is, but judging by the look on Mark’s face, he would guess it’s a magical creature or something that could’ve saved them the pain of that too-long staircase. 

When they finally make it to the top, they have to creep carefully through the door, one by one, and sneak to the side. The roof is littered with soldiers, protecting the ships, being on the ships, or just chatting amongst themselves. 

“Let me handle this,” Chenle whispers, sticking his arm out. Jisung looks at him nervously. But he trusts Chenle not to get hurt. 

Chenle creeps along the rim of the roof. He reaches into his belt, pulling out a small sphere. He throws it. Smoke explodes from it, covering the entirety of the roof. 

When the smoke clears, the first ship is down, its nose on fire. Commotion erupts. Shots are being fired all over the place and Chenle is nowhere to be seen. The second ship lights up, then the third, then the fourth. Jisung still can’t spot Chenle, and he doesn’t know how he’s doing it. 

Another cloud of smoke covers the roof. A person appears beside Jisung. 

Jisung jumps, about to scream when a hand claps over his mouth. 

“Jisungie, it’s me,” Chenle says as the smoke clears. 

“How the fuck did you do that?” Donghyuck whispers in awe. 

Chenle just shrugs, a smirk on his face. “The h in Chenle stands for sneaky.” 

“There isn’t even a—” 

Chenle cuts Mark off. “But we should get out of here, we have a jail to recapture.” 

Seconds later, a gunshot goes off and all hell breaks loose. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


	11. Disillusionment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A laser blast flies past Jisung’s head.
> 
> Jisung realizes very quickly how badly he needs a blaster. 

A laser blast flies past Jisung’s head. They’ve split up, Donghyuck shoving everyone in various directions as a small battle breaks out. 

Jisung realizes very quickly how badly he needs a blaster. 

He sprints towards one of the ships, desperate for some form of cover. The fourth ship is the only one not currently up in flames, the fire having gone out. Jisung sprints up the hangar and into the ship, running into the cockpit. He crouches in the corner next to the door, so that if anyone peered in from outside they couldn’t see him. 

He pulls his knife from its sheath. If it came down to it, could he use it? Could he stab another living being? 

Jisung gulps. He isn’t sure. He prays that none of his friends have gotten into any trouble.

He takes a few deep breaths, calming his speeding heart. He has to stay alive. 

There’s a loud thunk on the windshield. Jisung snaps up, and watches in horror as a soldier on the windshield begins banging on the glass with the butt of his gun. 

Jisung should be fine. The windows on these spaceships are made with some of the thickest glass in the universe. He relaxes. There’s no way this guy gets through. 

Seconds later, someone runs through the door. A soldier stands there, gun raised. He looks around, doesn’t see Jisung, and leaves. 

Jisung’s heart is in his throat. 

The glass shatters minutes later. The soldier drops to the ground, gun pointed directly at Jisung. 

Jisung has never been this scared in his life. He grips the knife tight in his hand. Shaking, he stands. He can’t die. 

The man walks closer until the barrel of the gun is pointed directly at Jisung’s heart, touching his chest. 

Jisung makes eye contact with the man as a tear drips down his cheek. He squeezes his eyes shut, bracing himself for death. He’ll never see Chenle again. A broken sob escapes him. 

He wants to fight back, throw his knife, kick him in the balls, but he’s frozen with fear. If he moves, the soldier will surely shoot. 

Then the pressure on his chest disappears. Air fills his lungs. 

He opens his eyes to see the soldier hopping back out of the broken window. 

Jisung drops to his knees, curling into a ball. He feels like a little kid; the same scared, small kid who left his planet just two months ago. Nothing has changed. 

But things need to change. Jisung just almost let himself die. 

Another soldier jumps through the broken window. Jisung stands, ready to fight when the soldier removes his mask, revealing a familiar head of orange hair. 

“ _ Chenle _ ,” he runs, pulling Chenle into his arms in the tightest hug he thinks he’s ever given in his life. 

Chenle hugs him back tightly, before pushing him away and pressing a blaster into his hands. 

Chenle looks up at him with scared eyes. 

“You need to fight, Jisungie. I can’t lose you.” Jisung nods. He will grow stronger.

Chenle squeezes his hand. He puts on his helmet and jumps back out the windshield. 

Jisung walks over to the windshield and peers out. He can try to snipe from up here.

He raises his weapon, pointing it out the windshield. He sees his friends running around, fighting. There’s a soldier about to sneak up on Jeno. He raises his blaster and points it at the soldier. He takes a deep breath. 

He has to do this. 

He fires. 

The soldier drops, stunned. Jisung lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. 

Another soldier sneaks up on Jaemin. Jisung lifts his blaster again. He fires. 

There are footsteps from behind him. Jisung whips around, gun raised. He finds a soldier staring back at him. Heart pounding, Jisung fires and the soldier drops to the ground. 

Jisung isn’t going to die, not today. 

He turns back to the windshield. He isn’t sure how many people he shoots, how many soldiers drop. After what feels like hours, Jisung finally relaxes.

“We’re done!” He hears Donghyuck shout. Jisung walks out of the ship into the circle of all of his friends. 

Everyone looks worse for wear. Jeno is bleeding from his face, Jaemin has a cut along his arm. Donghyuck is limping. Mark looks beat-up but with no serious injuries, and Chenle looks significantly paler than usual. 

“Chenle? You okay?” Jeno asks. 

Chenle nods weakly, before his eyes roll to the back of his head. He drops like a rock. Jisung yelps. He catches him just before his head hits the ground. 

“Chenle!” Jisung exclaims. Oh fuck. Jisung’s heart jumps into his throat. 

“Shit,” Donghyuck says. He pats all of the pockets of his padded vest before pulling out a small first aid kit and a spool of thread. 

That’s when Jisung notices the gash in his side. 

Jisung pales, kneeling and resting Chenle’s head in his lap. 

“It’s gonna be ugly, but until Doyoung gets here I’m the best we’ve got,” Donghyuck grimaces. He pulls a small needle out of the first aid kit. 

“This contains a small dose of anaesthetic, it should numb him for a while.” 

“Wait wait,” Jisung stutters. “You’re just gonna sew him up right here?” 

“If he wasn’t bleeding out I’d say we should wait, but I’m worried we’re dangerously close to his spleen, and if that gets punctured he’s gone.” 

Jisung gulps. What if Chenle doesn’t wake up? 

Just as Donghyuck is injecting the anaesthetic, Doyoung appears next to them, sweat on his forehead and a bottle of water in hand. 

He lays a white towel on the ground, then takes Chenle from Jisung and lays him on it. Jisung’s heart pounds. He moves to sit next to Jaemin, who squeezes his hand for emotional support. 

Doyoung cleans the wound. It actually looks nothing close to as bad as Jisung expected, but he is losing a considerable amount of blood nonetheless. 

Doyoung, who’s now wearing blue gloves and a blue mask, takes the needle and thread from Donghyuck and begins to sew Chenle up. 

Jisung has to look away. Nothing feels real. Chenle being shot doesn’t feel real. Chenle can’t leave him, he won’t leave him, especially not after he told Jisung he can’t live without him. Jisung can’t live without Chenle. They’ve only been boyfriends for a week! Jisung hasn’t even gotten to kiss him yet. The thought has him quietly weeping into Jaemin’s shoulder. 

After thirty long, painful minutes, Doyoung announces he’s done. 

Then Doyoung produces a small vial from his jacket pocket. 

“This,” he raises it, “is the saliva of an obobo, a creature from Earth. It has healing properties, and it’s considered to be magical by many.” 

He uncaps the vial, pouring the saliva onto Chenle’s garish but sewed-up wound. 

Almost immediately, the wound begins to heal. Chenle’s skin closes itself up, as if it’s molding together. 

Jisung’s eyes widen in shock. He’s never seen anything like that in his life. A tear slips down his cheeks. Chenle’s going to be just fine. 

“Where did you get that? That’s almost impossible to find,” Mark says in wonder. There’s a glint in his eyes. 

Doyoung smiles sheepishly. “Well, I stole it while on a mission once.” 

Donghyuck grins. “Nice.” 

Jisung lets go of Jaemin’s hand to shift closer to Chenle and take his. Chenle stirs in his sleep, slowly coming to. 

He blinks. “Holy shit,” he mutters. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.” He pushes himself up slightly with his free hand. 

“Sorry about that.” Chenle grins cheekily. 

Jisung can’t help but facepalm. Just like Chenle to get shot and completely brush it off. 

That’s when it hits Jisung. Chenle was  _ shot _ , he could’ve  _ died _ . 

“Chenle, you could’ve died.” Jisung squeezes his hand, distressed. 

Chenle pushes himself into a sitting position. He squeezes Jisung’s hand.

“No, no doing that yet.” Doyoung gently pushes him back down. 

“Doyoung, stop. I’m fine. Let me hug him.” 

“Chenle, you just got shot.” 

“I said I’m fine.” He sits up again. 

“Chenle—” 

“Doyoung quit it, you're not my mom.” He brushes Doyoung’s hand off. 

Doyoung scoffs. “You don’t have a real one.” 

Everyone falls silent. The others stop talking amongst themselves, and Jisung freezes as he sees hurt on Chenle’s face. 

“Fuck off,” Chenle says, standing. He stalks over to the door of the staircase and throws it open. 

“Chenle!” Jisung shouts, racing after him. Chenle is three steps down, gripping the railing so hard his knuckles are white. With his other hand he clutches his wound. 

“Lele, oh, Lele, wait.” Jisung walks up next to him. He takes Chenle’s arm and lifts it, placing it around his shoulders. He takes his hand in his far one. He wraps his other arm around Chenle’s waist—the uninjured side. Chenle leans on him, groaning. 

“Let’s sit,” Jisung says, slowly lowering them to sit on the step above them. Chenle’s entire weight is on his shoulders. Fuck, Chenle shouldn’t have stood up. He turns to look at Chenle, who’s rather pale again. 

Chenle removes his arm from Jisung’s shoulders, instead tucking into Jisung’s side. 

“I’m sorry,” Chenle mumbles. Jisung has never seen him so vulnerable. His heart is pounding in his chest. 

“It’s okay, Lele,” Jisung says softly. He pulls him closer. Chenle takes Jisung’s free hand into his own, playing with his fingers. 

“I didn’t mean to get shot, and I didn’t mean to run away. It’s just, what Doyoung said hurt,” his voice cracks. 

“I understand, it’s okay, really. I’m just glad you’re alive.” 

“But it isn’t. I’m being irresponsible.” 

“It’s okay. Let me take care of you for once.” Chenle looks up at him, he gives a small smile. Jisung’s heart is pounding. They’re so close they could kiss. 

At that thought, he can’t help but sneak a glance at Chenle’s lips. They look soft. 

Chenle catches him. He raises an eyebrow, eyes flitting down to Jisung’s lips. 

“I almost lost you today,” Jisung whispers. 

“And I almost lost you,” Chenle replies. “It’s okay,” he laces his fingers with Jisung’s, “I’m right here.” 

And with that, Chenle leans in, pressing his lips to Jisung’s. He lifts his hand up, cupping Jisung’s cheek. 

Jisung responds immediately, turning his head slightly so their lips slot together just right. 

It isn’t perfect. Jisung’s neck hurts and he’s sure Chenle isn’t comfortable either. But god, Jisung wouldn’t trade this for the world. His heart is going haywire. He can’t form a single thought in his head except  _ Chenle Chenle Chenle.  _

Jisung has never experienced anything like it in his life. He wishes he could just stay there kissing Chenle forever. 

A minute later, Chenle pulls away. He has a dazed look on his face and a lopsided smile. Jisung is sure he doesn’t look much different, with pink cheeks and a lovesick expression. 

“That was …” 

“Nice,” Jisung finishes. 

Chenle giggles. “Yes, yes it was, I think we should do that more often.” He winks. 

Jisung’s cheeks flush even more. 

“But, Jisung.” Chenle gulps, looking down at the stairs. He starts to play with Jisung’s fingers again. 

“There’s something I have to tell you, about your parents.” 

Jisung perks up at that. What would Chenle know about his parents? His parents are dead. 

“What is it?” 

“Well …” Chenle begins. 

The door of the staircase bursts open, interrupting Chenle.

“Chenle, we need to leave now.” 

Chenle jumps up but immediately keels over. Jiung catches him quickly, holding him up. 

“Jeno and Donghyuck took the elevator down to the ground floor. They’ve got your ship underground, they’re gonna fly it up and pick us up.” Mark informs them. 

“But it’s in shit condition. It can’t fly,” Chenle says, wincing. He and Jisung begin to slowly make it up the staircase. 

“Well, according to Doyoung they would’ve fixed it so they could use it themselves.” 

Chenle scoffs. “The bastards.” 

“Oh yeah, uh, why do we need to leave exactly?” Chenle asks as they reach the top of the staircase. 

“They found us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha what about jisung's parents?  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


	12. The Cealeon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he was a kid, Jisung loved asteroids. He loved seeing them float around space from his dinky little telescope. He loves rocks, so an asteroid was just a giant space rock. When you’re seven years old, there is nothing cooler than space rock. 
> 
> But right now? Jisung is not that much of a fan of asteroids. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little upset that his first asteroid field experience is them racing through it trying not to be brutally murdered. 

Jisung is shocked by how easily their ship gets off the ground. With the copious amounts of damage left on the ship, it really is impressive that in such a short amount of time, they did so many repairs. 

Jisung is very impressed. It makes him wonder again why Chenle went to his little shop. 

But now that he knows Chenle has feelings for him as well, he thinks he has a hunch as to why. The thought makes him feel all warm and fuzzy. 

He sneaks a look at Chenle. 

Oh boy. Chenle is far from warm and fuzzy. The look on Chenle’s face would be best described as determined, or twisted with pain, as they speed through space. Chenle keeps looking at the hyperspace lever, but doesn’t pull it. It’s understandable. After last time, Jisung wouldn’t pull it either. 

Jisung is knocked out of his thoughts as a loud boom from the right side of the ship jostles all of them. 

Thank god for seatbelts. 

Chenle lets out a cry. Jisung turns to him in a heartbeat. His face is screwed up in pain; he has a hand off the wheel and on his wound. 

“Mark, be my copilot. Jisung, you and Chenle sit on that bench.” Jeno instructs. 

He walks over to take the controls from Chenle. Chenle unbuckles his seatbelt. Jisung helps him up and over to the free bench, buckling them in. Chenle slumps onto him immediately, clutching his side. Jisung wraps his arm around him, pulling him close. 

Even with the obobo’s saliva healing most of Chenle’s injury, he doesn’t have any painkillers. There’s no way it doesn’t hurt a lot. 

Jisung just hopes he can provide Chenle with some comfort. He gets how much that shit can hurt. 

Once Jeno takes the controls it’s like the atmosphere of the ship changes. 

Jeno is a completely different flier. While Chenle is sharp, controlled, risky, and excited; Jeno is calm, smooth and fluid, cutting through the sky, taking wide turns and large curves, arcing through space. 

It’s incredible. Jisung loves it. 

What he does not love is when another blast hits the left side of the ship, throwing them around again. Jisung holds Chenle tight, trying his hardest to protect him from any sharp movements. 

Through the windshield Jisung can see lasers flying past them as Jeno swerves back and forth. 

Then Jisung sees it. The asteroid field. 

When he was a kid, Jisung loved asteroids. He loved seeing them float around space from his dinky little telescope. He loves rocks, so an asteroid was just a giant space rock. When you’re seven years old, there is nothing cooler than space rock. 

But right now? Jisung is not that much of a fan of asteroids. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little upset that his first asteroid field experience is them racing through it trying not to be brutally murdered. 

Yikes. 

Jeno enters the field with ease, carefully avoiding the first asteroid. Then they begin  _ moving _ . Two asteroids collide in front of them, causing Jeno to yank up the controls so they don’t collide head first. 

Another asteroid comes flying in from the left, and Jeno turns the ship completely sideways to bypass it. 

Jisung yelps as they slip down the bench. He sticks his foot on the ground to try to stabilize them. When he looks up, Donghyuck and Jaemin are having the same problem. The benches on this ship really aren’t made for sideways travel. 

Jeno continues to speed them forwards, weaving through asteroids. Donghyuck looks a little greener than usual, which is saying something. 

Mark and Jeno, luckily, are the ones who have seatbelts equipped for upside down and sideways travel. 

Mark’s seat belt snaps the next time Jeno turns the ship sideways, avoiding a particularly large blast from their enemies. Mark flies across the room like a ragdoll, landing near the door with a loud  _ thunk _ . 

“Mark!” Jaemin cries, moving to stand up until Donghyuck pushes him back. Mark remains unmoving. 

Jeno abruptly shifts course, yanking them out of the asteroid field. The second they’re out of it, Jeno slams down the hyperspace lever without a moment’s hesitation. 

Jisung has a jolt of fear as they enter hyperspace. A couple seconds later, Jeno pulls the lever back down. Luckily, it goes, and they exit hyperspace smoothly. Jisung lets out a sigh.

They all take a breather. There’s no way the Välde tracked them through hyperspace.

They need supplies—medical supplies—and food. Jaemin drops down next to Mark, worry etched onto his face. 

Jisung really needs to ask him when that happened. 

He gently takes Mark’s wrist in his hand, giving a thumbs up after a few seconds, indicating he found a pulse. 

Jeno leaves the room, then returns a few seconds later with a glass of water, which he—with no hesitation—dumps onto Mark’s head. 

Mark is awake in an instant, spluttering and bringing his hands up to wipe water out of his eyes. 

“Dude! What the fuck,” Mark says. His words aren’t slurred. That’s a good sign. 

“I could say the same to you,” Jeno scoffs. 

With Jaemin’s help, Mark pushes himself to a sitting position. 

“My head hurts,” he groans. 

Donghyuck laughs loudly. “No shit, dude. I’d be shocked if it didn’t.” 

Jaemin helps Mark to stand after Mark gives the okay. He throws Mark’s arm over his shoulder and they walk over to the nearby bench, kicking Donghyuck off. Donghyuck simply slinks over to the copilot’s chair, happy with himself.

“Why did you come with us?” Chenle asks, breaking the silence that had fallen over the ship. 

Donghyuck shrugs. “I wanted to. Doyoung can finish the mission back home, I want to help you guys.” 

Chenle gives a weak smile. “Good enough for me.” 

“What next?” Mark asks. He’s leaning his head on Jaemin’s shoulder. Jaemin seems very pleased. 

Jeno stands, crossing his arms. 

“We rest,” he says, at the same time that Chenle says: “We get more supplies.” 

Jeno and Chenle make eye contact, and Jisung can see sparks fly. 

Chenle sits up straight, a determined look covering the pain in his eyes. 

“It’s my ship.” 

Jeno scoffs. “I don’t see you flying it.” 

Chenle moves but Jisung places his hand on his shoulder. Chenle turns to look at him, he simply shakes his head. 

Chenle begrudgingly sits back down. 

“How about this,” Jaemin says. “We keep on the look out for a Välde supply ship, and rest in the meantime.” 

Chenle and Jeno both glare at each other. 

“Fine.” 

* * *

They rest until Chenle can fly the ship on his own again, without the help of Jisung’s remaining painkillers. They tried contacting Renjun, to ask if Chenle should or shouldn’t use them. Considering the differing circumstances between Chenle and Jisung, species alone is grounds for concern. 

But, weirdly, he didn’t answer. 

They end up resting for about two weeks. Jeno spotted one ship during that time, but didn’t say anything, instead tagging it. Jisung saw him do it, but Jeno explained it was so Chenle would rest more, so Jisung agreed. 

A second ship flies past them on day fifteen. 

“There!” Chenle shouts, pointing to the ship. He’s in the pilot seat again. He seems happier than he has in the past two weeks. 

“Finally some action,” Chenle says. He had been growing restless, very restless. 

Chenle flies over to the ship, hooking onto it. 

He sprints over to the wall, opening a compartment and taking out a helmet for space. 

“Here Jisung! You come with me,” he tosses Jisung a second helmet. 

“Donghyuck, do you want to come too?” Chenle asks, excitedly. Jisung really hasn’t seen Chenle this excited in a while. 

Donghyuck grins widely, “I’d love to, Lele.” 

Donghyuck and Chenle had gotten surprisingly close in the short time, Donghyuck doting on Chenle very cutely. A stark contrast to how Jeno and Chenle get along. Jisung really likes Donghyuck. He’s cool. 

The three of them place on their masks, slipping out the ship and flying—using boot blasters—onto the empire ship. 

They’re able to break in easily thanks to Chenle’s luxtro. They board the ship without detection. Chenle leads the way up to the cabin. He breaks down the door and within seconds takes out the pilot, copilot, and crew with his blaster. 

“That was easy.” Chenle grins. 

“Let’s start grabbing supplies.” Chenle heads back down the hall, lined with boxes. He checks the first box, a small crate on top of a larger one. 

“This one has bandages! Perfect!” He heads out with the box, bringing it back to his ship. 

Donghyuck uses his knife to open the big crate, popping the cover off and letting out a yell. 

“Renjun?” 

“Donghyuck?” 

“Renjun? What? What the fuck?” Donghyuck peers into the box. Jisung, confused, moves around to look in it as well. And sure enough, there’s his surgeon. 

“Oh, hi, Renjun.” 

“Jisung! How are you feeling? Is your wound all better?” Jisung nods vehemently. 

Donghyuck laughs at that. “Since when did you get so caring?” 

“Shut up, he’s my patient.” 

“Your,” Donghyuck furrows his brows in confusion. “He was your patient?” 

“Yeah, when he got shot like a month ago.” 

“You got shot?” Donghyuck’s mouth drops open. 

Jisung shrugs. “Yeah.” 

“Wow, you and your boyfriend have horrible luck.” Donghyuck snorts. 

“Oh are they boyfriends now?”

Jisung smiles sheepishly. “Yes, I confessed by accident.” 

Renjun whoops loudly. “I knew that kid was in love with you.” 

Jisung flushes. 

“Knew who was in love with you? Why are you guys talking to a box?” Chenle walks back onto the ship, frowning. 

“You, you idiot.” Donghyuck laughs. “And we’re talking to Renjun.” 

“Renjun? Jisung’s surgeon?” 

“The one and only,” Renjun pipes up. 

“Why is he in a box?” Chenle asks, confused. That’s a good question. 

“Oh right, I forgot about that,” Donghyuck says. 

“Thanks, asshole.” 

Donghyuck cackles to that. 

“It’s because I’m being alien trafficked by the empire,” Renjun says casually.

“You’re what?!” Donghyuck and Chenle exclaim. Jisung just stares, wide-eyed. 

“I’m Cealeon, our wings are very valuable.” 

“You have wings?” Jisung asks, shocked. He definitely didn’t see those before. 

“Get me out of this bitch-ass box and I’ll show you.” 

Chenle steps forward, slicing up the front of the box with his luxtro. Renjun’s wrists and ankles are bound together—that’s why he didn’t stand before—so Chenle slices those as well. Finally, Renjun stands, stretching. He walks out of the box. 

He’s a lot shorter than Jisung realized. He’s at least a half head shorter than Jisung, and shorter than Chenle and Donghyuck as well. 

Two large, sparkling wings unfold from Renjun’s back. They remind Jisung of a butterfly’s wing in shape, except they’re translucent, sparkly, and veined. 

And broken. The tip of Renjun’s upper left wing is gone, leaving a jagged edge instead. 

“What happened?” Donghyuck whispers, reaching up to run his fingers along the edge. “It wasn’t like this when we were in school.” 

Renjun sighs. “They took a sample.” He makes air quotes around the word sample. “To make sure I’m a real Cealeon, or something fucking dumb like that.” He sniffles.

“I won’t be able to fly again, that’s for sure.” He wipes his eyes. 

Before Renjun can say another word, Donghyuck pulls him into a hug. He wraps his arms around him tightly, wary of his wings. 

Renjun relaxes in his arms. 

“I’m so sorry, Injunnie,” Donghyuck whispers. Renjun just shakes his head. 

“Ji, let’s keep getting supplies,” Chenle whispers, slipping his hand into Jisung’s and pulling him away from the pair, giving them some space. 

Jisung follows Chenle around the bend. They go through all the crates to get what they need, consolidating it into as few crates as possible and then moving them back onto the ship. 

They finish within the hour, detaching from the enemy ship and returning to deep space. 

Chenle parks them on a small moon behind a deep grey planet, one that looks lifeless. 

“So,” he starts. “What’s next?” 

Jisung looks around at the other six. Something in him tells him this is how it’s meant to be. Like Renjun was the last puzzle piece. 

They ended up pulling down a third bench, where Donghyuck sits with Renjun. Jeno sits next to them. Jisung can see Renjun sneakily eyeing Jeno up and down, an eyebrow raised. Across the room, Mark and Jaemin share a bench, their hands intertwined. 

“He’s pretty hot,” Renjun mutters to Donghyuck, who smirks. 

“If you stare at him he turns red,” Donghyuck replies. They’re talking just loud enough that Jisung can hear. Jeno seems to hear as well, judging by the way his eyes widen and a blush crawls onto his cheeks. 

Mark is the one who clears his throat after a couple minutes of tense silence. 

“I think we should try to invade the Välde.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> renjun !!!!!  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


	13. Reversals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan is really quite simple. 
> 
> Go in, take down the emperor, get out.

The plan is really quite simple. 

Go in, take down the emperor, get out. They’re gonna split up. Jisung, Mark, and Chenle will go to face the emperor while Jeno, Donghyuck, Renjun, and Jaemin shut down the communications systems, then join them wherever they end up. 

Jaemin came up with the plan, taking advantage of Chenle and Mark’s knowledge of the building. Mark knows where the emperor’s room is, and they’ll use the intel from the files to know the layout of the rest of the building. 

But before all of that is to go down, they agree to take one more week to prepare and heal, making base on a small moon. This way they aren’t all cooped up with one another for another week. 

And that’s how Jisung finds himself, three days before their mission, pacing outside Donghyuck’s shared cabin door. He’s nervous. Talking to Donghyuck is slightly scary. Probably because Jisung doesn’t want to say something stupid or embarrass himself. 

Tentatively, he knocks. 

“Donghyuck?” he calls. 

The door slides open, revealing Renjun. Renjun, Jeno, and Donghyuck have been sharing a cabin. 

“Oh, hi, Jisung. Donghyuck is in the kitchen.” 

“Oh,” Jisung says dumbly. Oops. 

Off to the kitchen. 

When he enters the kitchen area of the ship, he really isn’t surprised to see Donghyuck sitting on top of the small counter eating a strange fruit. They’ve learned that Donghyuck likes to sit on top of things. 

“What’s up, Jisungie?” Donghyuck greets, taking a bite of his fruit. 

“Uh, I was wondering.” Jisung is suddenly feeling rather shy. What if his request is stupid? 

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. 

“He wants you to weapons train him!” Someone—who sounds suspiciously like Jaemin—calls from the other side of the ship. 

Donghyuck’s face breaks into a dazzling smile. “Ah, so you came seeking my expertise.” 

“Oh, shut up, Hyuck,” Renjun says, slipping past Jisung and unlatching one of the cabinets. 

“He literally did! And last I checked, I taught you to use your sword,” Donghyuck scoffs. 

Renjun simply rolls his eyes. He grabs what he needs and leaves the kitchen. 

“Yes, I will teach you.” Donghyuck slips off the counter. 

“I think I have just the weapon for you.” 

* * *

Jisung weighs the weapon in his hands. It’s weighted quite nicely. It’s called a Falchion—or that’s the style of sword, according to Donghyuck. 

It’s a luxtro, so the blade isn’t metal but the laser-like material that can slice through almost anything. 

“This style of blade is traditionally one-sided, but of course that doesn’t matter with a luxtro, since all luxtros are double-sided. That being said,” Donghyuck turns his weapon in his hands, “you want to lead with the curved side. The curve has a ridge that will allow you to have more control when your blade meets another.” 

Jisung nods, listening diligently. 

“Okay, Jisung,” Donghyuck says. He’s standing next to Jisung with his own blade. 

“With a weapon like this, you’re gonna want to hold it more up and to the side as opposed to in front of you.” He holds his weapon up next to his head, to the right. 

Jisung follows his example, bringing his weapon up. 

“The general movement remains the same each time. You swipe down, and when you have an opportunity, you thrust the blade.” 

He demonstrates, bringing the blade down with a step, then jabbing it into the space in front of him. 

“Your stance is painfully important, it’s where you draw your strength from. You want sound footing. Step as you slice.” 

He demonstrates again. 

He has Jisung repeat the action until Donghyuck is satisfied, slicing in different directions, stepping with different feet, until he’s happy with Jisung's progress. At some point, Chenle and Jeno come out to watch them. 

“Great! Now let’s duel.” 

“What? Donghyuck, seriously?” Chenle pipes up. 

Donghyuck just shrugs. “He’s definitely ready for it.” 

Jeno laughs at that. “You’re ridiculous, you just showed him basic moves.” 

“And after that it’s all experience.” 

“Jisung, how do you feel?” Chenle calls. 

Jisung shrugs. He’s scared, sure, but … “I need to learn to fight. I’ll duel him.”

Chenle smiles proudly. Jisung’s heart soars. 

“You sure you’re the same kid I first met?” Jeno asks, grinning.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Donghyuck says. He clicks the button on the hilt of his sword and the blade extends. 

Jisung preps his stance, holding his sword up and out just like Donghyuck said. 

Donghyuck jabs at him first. Jisung brings down his sword, intercepting Donghyuck’s. 

“Remember Jisung: here, when our blades collide, you want to maintain control.” 

Jisung nods. He grounds himself with his stance. Donghyuck swings up, then moves to bring it down again. Jisung catches his sword in the crook of his own, using the jagged edge to hold Donghyuck’s sword. 

“You could—”

Jisung cuts him off by side-stepping, letting down their swords and jabbing at Donghyuck, just enough to startle him but not enough to graze him. 

Donghyuck looks briefly surprised, before a smirk grows. 

“Well done, well done.” 

A chill goes up Jisung’s spine. 

Donghyuck sidesteps, swiping his sword at Jisung, forcing Jisung to twist uncomfortably to catch it. It knocks him from his perfected stance. 

He jumps back into stance, catching Donghyuck’s sword when he swipes at him again. Jisung tries to go on the offensive, slicing through the air towards Donghyuck’s legs for an underhanded attack. Donghyuck catches his blade. Jisung brings his blade up, pausing right under Donghyuck’s outstretched arm. 

“Damn, kid. You’re good, that’s another tally for you.”

“Oh, is Donghyuck losing?” Renjun’s voice carries over to them. Jisung looks over to see Renjun walking down the ramp to join them. Mark and Jaemin tail him, holding hands. 

Jisung is about to reply when he feels something very hot by his neck. He slowly turns to see Donghyuck with his sword mere centimeters away from his throat.

“Guess I forgot to mention to never let your guard down, I figured that would be a given,” Donghyuck says with a smirk. 

“Boooo,” Chenle yells from the audience, “that was dirty!” 

“Jeno, that’s a tally for Donghyuck!” Donghyuck calls. Jeno makes another mark in the sand. 

They go back to it. Donghyuck wins this round, his sword landing by Jisung’s side. 

In fact, Donghyuck wins the next five rounds. Jisung is starting to get a little discouraged, until Chenle’s cheers help him to win the next round. 

They go on and on, until Donghyuck grazes Jisung’s cheek. 

“You ass, did you just cut me?” Jisung asks, shocked. 

“Fuck, that was an accident, don’t let Chenle see.” Donghyuck looks panicked. 

“Lee Donghyuck!” 

“How the fuck does he know my last name,” Donghyuck mutters. He turns as Chenle stalks over to them from the sidelines. 

“You dick,” he says, reaching up and gently wiping the blood of Jisung’s face with a cloth in his hands. 

“It’s okay Lele, I’ll look cool now,” Jisung says cheekily, grinning. 

Chenle glares at him. He stands on his tiptoes, pressing a kiss to Jisung’s cheek, right where he was grazed. 

Donghyuck fake vomits next to them. 

“Oh please,” Chenle bites, “we’ve all seen how you look at Renjun and Jeno.”

Donghyuck pales at that. 

“Let’s head back inside,” Donghyuck says, changing the subject. 

“Nice work today, Jisung. You’re gonna turn out to be a damn good fighter, I know it.” 

* * *

The morning of the invasion is hectic. The plan is simple. Cloak the ship, land on top of the capitol city’s building, and sneak inside. 

Chenle’s done it before, Mark’s done it before, it should be a piece of cake. 

Chenle flies them to a blue and green planet, one that looks like the pictures of Earth in the old magazines. 

Chenle enters the atmosphere with ease, flying towards the largest green landmass. As they descend on the city, Jisung stares in awe. 

The city is absolutely huge, covering miles and miles of land. It’s the greatest thing Jisung has ever seen, with towering skyscrapers and buildings covered in glass. At the tip of the city stands quite possibly the biggest building Jisung has ever seen. It has numerous peaks, and it’s castle-like in design. It’s gold, with one large peak in the center. Engraved in the gold heart of the building is a hexagon, with an ‘X’ in the middle and an extra line sticking out of the far left corner. 

Chenle flies through the city, swerving through air traffic like a pro. They reach the capitol building in no time. It’s even grander up close. Chenle flies through two of the peaks, flying down onto a flat bit of building hidden by the peaks. 

“We’ll be able to get in from here,” he says, pressing the button to extend the feet of the ship. They land. 

“Alright,” Chenle stands, clasping his hands in front of him, “everyone ready?” 

The rest of the team unbuckle and stand as well. 

“We’re ready,” Jeno says. 

“This war has gone on far too long,” Donghyuck remarks. Everyone else nods. They’ve all lost something to this war. Renjun quite literally lost a part of himself.

Jisung’s heart pounds in his chest. His hands are slightly sweaty. 

He doesn’t know if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed or what, but something doesn’t feel right. 

Chenle reaches out, taking his hand. “We’ll be okay, Ji.” 

Jisung smiles at him. 

They leave the ship in waves. Jeno, Donghyuck, Jaemin, and Renjun leave first with their mission set. They need to destroy communications, that way they can’t send out signals and instructions to colonizing ships. 

Jisung, Mark, and Chenle follow afterwards. 

They sneak into the building, creeping down the halls. 

Jisung should feel safe. He’s with two people who have done this before. But he can’t shake himself. 

They walk through the halls with relative ease. The halls are white, empty, and lifeless, and Jisung is thoroughly creeped out. 

“Get behind me,” Mark says suddenly, raising his blaster. Jisung freezes. His heart rate spikes and he reaches out, grabbing Chenle’s hand. 

Chenle squeezes his hand. “Relax, Sungie,” he whispers. 

Mark fires his blaster around the corner. One, two, three, four times. 

“Let’s keep moving.” They round the corner. Jisung pales as they have to step over the bodies of four unconscious soldiers. 

He is so on edge it isn’t even funny. 

“Jisung,” Chenle says. Jisung jumps a foot in the air. 

“Baby, relax,” he says softly. Jisung’s cheeks flush at the pet name. That’s new. 

“I can’t,” Jisung confesses. He really can’t. 

“We’ll be okay.” Chenle gently rubs the back of Jisung’s hand with his thumb. 

They continue down the hall, walking until they reach a large set of sleek, black double doors. 

“This should be it.” Mark gulps. 

Jisung rocks back and forth on his feet. “Isn’t it a little obvious?” 

Chenle shrugs. “Yeah, but the emperor is a very extravagant man, he doesn’t really care.” 

Mark walks over to the keypad, pressing in a number sequence. 

Chenle frowns. “How did you know that?” 

“From the files,” Mark says casually. 

Chenle looks like he wants to say more, but doesn’t. 

Mark pushes open the double doors and they walk into the room. 

The room is large and dark, with a blood red carpet and small lights in the high ceiling. Around the edge of the walls are various helmets, and paintings of different Valde rulers. 

It’s terrifying. Jisung moves closer to Chenle. He reaches over, grabbing Chenle’s arm as well. Chenle unsheathes his luxtro in his free hand. Mark stands in front of them, weapon drawn. 

At the end of the carpet stands not one figure, but two. They walk closer. As they come into the light, and just as Jisung can make out their figures, Mark holds out his hand. Not to them, but to Jisung and Chenle. 

Mark walks to stand next to the two people. His head is down. 

Did Mark just leave them? What just happened … 

The doors slam shut behind Jisung and Chenle. Jisung jumps. They’re trapped. His heart skips a beat.

He looks from the doors to the two people and his heart stops. He stumbles backwards. This can’t be possible. This cannot be possible. 

“Mom?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)   
>  [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)   
>  [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


	14. A Thorny Fork in the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hi, sweetie.” 
> 
> Jisung stares in horror as his parents, donned in dark red Välde clothing, smile at him. 
> 
> “What? You’re dead, you’re supposed to be dead. How are you alive?”

“Hi, sweetie.” 

Jisung stares in horror as his parents, donned in dark red Välde clothing, smile at him. 

“What?” He squeezes Chenle’s hand. Hard. 

“What? You’re dead, you’re supposed to be dead. How are you alive?” He feels like crying. He’s never been so confused in his entire life. What’s happening? 

His breath is beginning to pick up and the only thing that’s grounding him is Chenle’s hand in his, rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand. 

“We aren’t dead, sweetie—” 

“Don’t call me that,” Jisung says harshly. 

That means they abandoned him. If they aren’t dead, then they abandoned him. 

Jisung steps back further, only for his back to hit a body. Hands grab his shoulders and shove him hard. He stumbles forward. His hand begins to slip from Chenle’s grip and he immediately panics. 

“Chenle—” 

“Jisung, I’ve got you,” Chenle whispers. He slips his hand back into Jisung’s, stepping forward. 

But he sounds guilty. Why does he sound guilty? 

Jisung turns. There’s regret in Chenle’s eyes. 

He briefly glances back at his parents. Then it clicks. 

“You knew,” Jisung whispers. 

“All this time,” he removes his hand from Chenle’s, stepping away. 

“All this time you knew they were alive and you didn’t  _ tell _ me?” A tear drips down his cheek. 

“Ji, I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you, I tried to, really, but—” 

“But you didn’t,” Jisung scoffs. 

Chenle gulps. He looks scared. 

“Jisung ah, we wouldn’t do that to you,” his mother says, smiling. Is she fucking serious? 

“But you did!” he cries, throwing an arm out. He misses having Chenle’s hand to ground him. He’s losing himself.

“You fucking abandoned me! For years! For my entire childhood I thought you were dead!” More tears. 

“Jisung, please, come with us, leave him and your friends, we can offer you a better life here,” his mother begs. Jisung scoffs. “We’ve been searching for you ever since you left home.”

Jisung ignores her. He turns back to Chenle. 

They had their chance at a life with him. And they fucking left him. 

“Chenle, why didn’t you tell me?” Jisung pleads. Chenle looks so distraught. 

“I told you, I tried.” 

Jisung shakes his head, “Lele, I know you. Why?” He feels so betrayed. He hasn’t even addressed Mark yet. 

Chenle takes a deep breath. Fear is etched onto his face. Jisung’s heart breaks a little bit. 

“I was scared you’d leave me,” he whispers. “I can’t lose you.” 

“You’re an idiot,” Jisung says, wiping at his own tears. “I wouldn’t leave you.” 

Chenle begins to cry at that. “I’m sorry.” He reaches up to wipe his tears. “I really am sorry, Jisungie.” 

Jisung’s heart breaks. He’s still upset with him, but nothing hurts more than watching Chenle cry. 

“I love you,” Jisung whispers, just loud enough that Chenle catches it. Chenle smiles, wiping away his tears. 

Jisung goes to move towards him, but he’s stopped by a hand on each of his arms. 

Panic courses through him, he tries to pull free but the two guards holding him don’t budge. Two guards have grabbed Chenle as well, and Jisung looks at him, worried. 

But Chenle doesn’t look panicked. He is simply glaring at Jisung’s parents. 

“Jisung.” A stern voice says. Jisung jolts up to look at parents. 

“I know it seemed like we were giving you a choice,” his father drawls. 

“But I wasn’t.” His father nods towards the guards. 

One of the guards brandishes a knife, and proceeds to hold it up to Chenle’s throat. 

“You can either come stay with us, or watch your boyfriend die.” 

Jisung’s jaw drops. 

“What? No, no, you can’t do this,” Jisung tries to argue, but tears are already dripping down his cheeks. 

Are they fucking serious? What kind of parents meet their child for the first time then immediately threaten to kill their boyfriend? 

Jisung can’t do this. He can’t do this. Oh god. 

“Jisungie,” Chenle says calmly as Jisung hangs his head. 

Jisung shakes his head. He can’t do this. 

“Ji, honey, I’ll be okay.” 

Jisung shakes his head. He can’t do this, there has to be another way. 

“Go with them and everything will be okay.” 

“What?” Jisung croaks, lifting his head. 

Chenle just smiles softly. 

“Lele, I can’t, I can’t leave you.” Jisung cries. 

“You have to, you have to.” 

“Jisung.” His father’s annoying voice rings out. 

“Your choice?” 

The guard presses the knife ever so slightly into Chenle’s neck. Jisung’s breaths pick up. Even Chenle looks the slightest bit panicked. 

“Okay! Okay, okay, I’ll stay with you, just don’t fucking hurt him!” Jisung shouts. The guard pockets his knife, leaving a small red line on Chenle’s throat. 

Jisung chokes upon seeing it. What the fuck. 

“Chenle I—” 

“I love you, Jisung,” Chenle whispers. 

“Stay strong, baby, just hold on okay?” Chenle whispers, just for Jisung to hear. 

“I love you,” Jisung’s voice breaks. He squeezes his eyes shut. 

He can hear the sounds of doors being opened. He hears Chenle say “Fuck you.” When he opens his eyes, Chenle is gone. 

Pain. That’s all Jisung can feel. The guards let him go and he drops to his knees. Heaving sobs wrack his body. Everything hurts, his heart aches at the amount of betrayal. His mind is spinning. Everything happened far too fast. His parents threatened to kill Chenle. His parents almost killed Chenle. His parents are alive. They abandoned him. He lost Chenle. He lost Chenle. 

Footsteps rush over to him, and when Jisung looks up he sees Mark looking at him with concern. 

“Jisung,” Mark says, reaching out. 

“No,” Jisung spits. He sits up. 

“No, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you! You led us here on purpose,” his voice shakes. “You betrayed us.” 

Mark backs away, retracting his hand. He turns and runs out the double doors. 

Jisung is alone. 

* * *

The second the guards bring Chenle out of the room, he jumps up, headbutting the first guard in the chin. The guard lets go of him out of shock. His right hand now free, he socks the other guard in the neck, unable to hit his face due to his mask. 

He whips around, roundhouse kicking the third guard to the head. The forth one runs. 

Then Chenle runs as well. 

He knew the second Mark used the code that something was wrong. Chenle read over those files more times than he can count. The keypad code was not on there. 

He needs to warn the others that they were brought directly into a trap. That’s why it was so easy to get in. Mark had a mission, and he completed it. 

Chenle scolds himself for not being more vigilant, especially with Taeyong’s warning. He never would’ve expected it from Mark.

That just makes it sting more, doesn’t it?

It’s his fault Jisung is gone. He was supposed to protect him. He would’ve done more in the throne room, but he was too scared of the power Jisung’s parents hold. 

Chenle just keeps running. He needs to find the others and leave. 

Then Chenle runs directly into someone. 

Chenle falls, lifting his arm to protect his face from whoever he ran into. When he isn’t met with expected violence, he looks up to find Jeno’s outstretched hand. 

He takes his hand, standing. Then he pulls Jeno into a hug without a second thought. Jeno stumbles, but wraps his arms around him as well. 

“Chenle? You good?” Donghyuck asks. Chenle just shakes his head. He’s sure he looks like shit as well. 

“Where’s Jisung? And Mark?” Jaemin asks. 

Before Chenle can answer his question, Donghyuck drops to the ground, stunned. 

“Donghyuck!” Renjun cries. He goes to move forward but Jaemin shoves him back. Chenle whips around. 

“Mark? What the h—” 

Before he can finish his sentence, Mark raises his blaster and shoots. 

Jeno drops like a fly. 

Mark points his blaster at Chenle this time, but then he’s hit with a red blast and he also falls. 

Chenle turns in shock to see Jaemin with his blaster up and a tear rolling down his cheek. 

“We need to leave, now,” Jaemin orders. 

He grabs both Chenle and a distressed Renjun. 

“Jaem,” Renjun looks back, “we can’t just leave them.” 

Jaemin just shakes his head. 

“If we don’t, we won’t make it out of here alive.” 

Renjun doesn’t say anything more, instead sniffling quietly. He swipes at his eyes. 

Chenle feels blank as they run through the halls, finally making it to the loading bay. 

Chenle feels blank as he walks up the ship and sits in the pilot’s chair. 

Chenle feels blank as he puts the ship in gear, flying off into space. 

Nobody follows them. They leave in peace. But they leave broken and separated. 

* * *

“Chenle,” Jaemin begins, “what the hell happened?” 

They’re in the cabin of Chenle’s ship. Renjun and Jaemin sit together on a bench. Chenle’s in the pilot’s seat. He’s been flying for sixteen hours. He hasn’t eaten. He hasn’t rested. He’s too scared to use hyperspace because Jisung isn’t here to fix it. So he flies. He doesn’t know where to go. He doesn’t know what to do. He lost the center of his universe. 

“He betrayed us,” Chenle says. He sets the ship on autopilot and turns his chair around to face his remaining friends. 

“Jisung’s parents have been searching for him ever since I took him off Vesnia.”

Chenle takes a deep breath, emotions bubbling inside him. 

“Mark led us right to them. They knew we were coming, they were ready.” 

Renjun stares at him in shock while Jaemin just stares at the ground, fiddling with his hands.

“He betrayed us, he’s been with them the whole time.” 

The room falls silent. Chenle’s heart aches. 

“And what happened with Jisung?” Renjun asks, tone hesitant. 

Chenle just bursts into tears. In seconds, Renjun and Jaemin are both by his side, helping him up from his chair and pulling him into a group hug. 

“I lost him,” Chenle wails. “They threatened to kill me and they took him from me.” Jaemin rubs his back gently. 

“And they almost did kill me,” he cries. “It was so scary, but I had to stay calm because Jisung was crying but I couldn’t console him because they had a fucking knife to my throat!” 

“Chenle, deep breaths,” Renjun says soothingly, voice calm. 

“Let me get you a bandaid, okay? You work on calming down.” Chenle nods, breaths stuttering. 

“Chenle,” Jaemin coos as Renjun leaves the room. He pulls Chenle into a really big hug. He holds Chenle until his sobs die down to quiet sniffles, rubbing his hand on his back the whole time. Chenle feels like a little kid, like when his mother would hold him over a stubbed toe. 

Right now Chenle misses his mom more than ever. 

Renjun reappears after a couple minutes, bandaid in hand. Jaemin lets go of Chenle, instead pushing him to sit down by the small of his back. Chenle takes a seat. 

Jaemin sits down next to him, while Renjun kneels in front of him. He takes a wet cloth, first wiping down the slit on his neck, then placing a small orange bandaid over it. 

“That way it matches your hair,” Renjun says, smiling. Chenle gives a weak smile back. 

“Take it off at night and in the morning get a new one from me,” Renjun instructs, “an infection there would be very, very bad.” Chenle nods. 

“And Jaemin, how are you holding up?” Renjun asks, turning to Jaemin. 

Chenle feels a wave of guilt. He was so busy missing Jisung that he didn’t even consider how Jaemin must be feeling. He was closest to Mark by a lot. 

“I’m alright,” Jaemin says, smiling weakly. But there are tears in his eyes and pain in them as well. 

“I just really thought we had something,” Jaemin says, wiping at a tear. 

“He said he liked me, and I liked him, too! Since we first got him from jail he was so sweet and charming—to me at least, he was kind of strict to everyone else.” He shrugs. 

“I guess it just stings a lot, watching him shoot two of our friends, and hearing how he essentially ruined Jisung’s life.” 

Renjun and Chenle both wince at that. 

“How about you, Renjun?” 

Renjun sighs. “I miss them both, that’s for sure. But Jeno is tough, real tough, and Donghyuck as well. They’ll look out for each other. They’ll be okay.” Renjun smiles. 

“And for now,” Renjun says. He puts a hand on Chenle and Jaemin’s shoulders. 

“We have to look out for each other.” 

“But what about Jisung?” Chenle’s lower lip trembles. 

“Jisung’s a tough cookie,” Renjun says, rubbing soothing circles into Chenle’s shoulder. 

“He’ll be just fine. We’ll get him back, I promise.”


	15. The Communications Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeno’s head hurts and his muscles ache. 
> 
> “Ah, look who’s finally coming around,” a nasally voice sounds from above. 
> 
> Jeno blinks his eyes open, meeting the face of someone rather hot. 
> 
> What.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a tw!! there's a throwing up in this chapter :(

Jeno’s head hurts and his muscles ache. 

“Ah, look who’s finally coming around,” a nasally voice sounds from above. 

Jeno blinks his eyes open, meeting the face of someone rather hot. 

What. 

Jeno pushes himself up, shaking his head to try to regain consciousness. 

He rubs his eyes. This time when he opens them he sees Donghyuck. 

“Oh, hey,” he says eloquently. It’s slightly awkward. Jeno’s crush surely doesn’t help that. 

Way to go, Jeno, crushing on two boys you definitely can’t get, and who definitely have a thing for each other since they’ve known each other for years. 

“Mark betrayed us,” Donghyuck says, giving a dry laugh. 

Jeno’s shaken from his thoughts. 

“Mark what?” 

“You dumbass, who do you think shot you?” 

Jeno’s jaw drops. He thought Mark shooting them was all just a bad dream. 

“He wouldn’t, no way. I’ve known Mark for years. He was my resistance partner after Chenle left, there’s no …” he falters when he sees Donghyuck’s crestfallen expression. 

“There’s no way.” 

Donghyuck smiles sadly. “I’m sorry, Jen. I know you guys were close.” 

Jeno can’t believe it. It hurts. 

Donghyuck kneels next to him. He wraps his arms around Jeno. Jeno freezes. Then he hugs back. His best friend betrayed them. 

They stay like that until there’s a sharp knock on the door. 

Jeno stands in an instant, on guard. He goes to stand in front of Donghyuck only for Donghyuck to stand in front of him. 

“Hey,” Jeno says, frowning. He steps around and stands in front of Donghyuck. 

“No, you hey,” Donghyuck says, pushing Jeno behind him. 

“Dude—” 

“Bitch—” 

“Come on, just get behind me.” Jeno and Donghyuck grapple over who’s standing in front. 

“No, you get behind me.” 

“I’m trying to protect you, dumbass,” Jeno argues. 

“Well, what do you think I’m trying to do, idiot,” Donghyuck bites back. 

The door opens and they both instinctively step back, standing side by side. 

Jeno feels a warm hand slip into his. He turns to look at Donghyuck, who shrugs and smiles. 

Mark stands in the doorway. 

“What the fuck do you want?” Donghyuck snaps before Jeno can get a word out. 

Mark looks at them regretfully. He takes a deep breath. 

“I was sent here,” he begins. His voice is shaking. “To tell you two to behave.” 

Donghyuck scoffs. “Oh, please. Like you care.” 

“Please, guys, they’re brutal here, horrible. They don’t care about your feelings, they will torture you,” Mark whispers. 

“Hurry up,” a gruff voice sounds from outside. 

“Just fuck off, Mark. You betrayed us, we don’t care,” Jeno says, angrily. 

“And I swear to fucking god, if you lay a single hand on Jisung I’ll break out of this prison and castrate you,” Donghyuck hisses. 

Mark doesn’t say anything. He nods, then turns and closes the door, leaving them in the dark prison cell. 

Almost instantaneously, Jeno pulls Donghyuck into a hug. It was far too hard to see Mark, after what he did to them. 

“I can’t hate him, Donghyuck, I want to but I can’t,” Jeno murmurs. 

“It’s okay.” Donghyuck pulls away. “I can hate him for you.” He reaches up and pats Jeno’s cheek. Jeno smiles genuinely. 

“I’m glad I’m stuck here with you.” 

Donghyuck looks surprised, but smiles. “I’m glad I’m stuck here with you, too.”

“Wouldn’t you rather like, be stuck here with Renjun?” Jeno blurts. 

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. 

“You idiot. I like you two the same, I’m happily stuck here with you.” 

* * *

Jisung can’t sleep. His parents locked him in some fancy-ass room with some giant fancy bed that feels like it’s made of clouds and with blankets fluffier than ones he’s ever touched, and the sheets are softer than anything he’s ever felt. 

He hates it. He hates all of it. He misses the flat, thin mattress in Chenle’s cabin, with the shitty thin blanket. 

Jisung wants to go home. 

Home being Chenle’s ship or, to be even cheesier, in Chenle’s arms. 

He misses Chenle. He misses him so much. Any anger he had towards him has completely faded. He wishes he knew Chenle’s ship ID so he could sneak into the communications room and leave a message, but he’s a fucking idiot so he didn’t take the time to memorize it. 

He’s never felt so alone in his entire life. Even when he worked alone at his parents’ shop, right after his grandmother died, he still had his droids, and the comfort of knowing his shop belonged to his parents. And he still had Chenle, who would visit him every other month. 

He feels like crying again but he’s cried so much there isn’t a single tear left in him. Instead he just curls up under the plush covers, hugging his knees to his chest. He’s freezing, absolutely freezing. He misses Chenle. Everything aches. 

It’s his sixth night there. Nobody’s bothered him yet. He still isn’t used to being there. He misses Chenle more each day. 

There’s a knock on his door. 

Jisung perks up in a second, heart jumping. 

At first he’s excited. Maybe it’s Donghyuck telling them Jaemin managed to make pancakes, or Renjun asking if he wants to play cards with him, or Jeno asking him to fix something on the ship. 

Then he remembers where he is, and the brief bout of hope fades away. 

It’s replaced by fear. He doesn’t want to see his parents. He doesn’t know who’s at the door. Someone could be there to kill him. 

“Come in,” he calls weakly. 

The large door creaks open. A small figure pokes his head in. 

“Jisung.” 

Jisung’s blood runs cold. It’s Mark. 

“What,” Jisung snaps. 

“I don’t want to see you, what do you want?” 

Mark gulps. “I wanted to let you know they got Jeno and Donghyuck.” 

Mark looks guilty. 

“It was your fault, wasn’t it?” Of course it was. Why is he even asking? 

Slowly, Mark nods. 

“Fuck off.” Jisung’s breathing picks up. He needs Mark to leave. 

“Jisung, I can—” 

“I said fuck off!” Jisung shouts. Mark’s betrayal burns, stings. It’s a fresh wound, still bleeding. 

Reluctantly, Mark leaves, leaving Jisung to his own thoughts yet again. 

Slowly, Jisung calms down again, and finally drifts off to sleep. 

* * *

Jisung is gently shaken awake. At first he brushes it off, knowing Chenle always wakes him up far too early. 

Then he remembers. Jisung bolts up in a second, fear shooting through him. He turns to find his mother, looking at him in surprise. 

“What are you, why are you, what?” Jisung can’t find the words to convey how he feels. 

He’s so confused. She’s acting so kind to him but she was so cruel the day it happened, and ignored him since. 

“Good morning, sweetie,” she reaches over, cupping his cheek. 

Jisung wants to throw up. 

Instead he pushes himself backwards, out of her reach. Her face falls. Instantly Jisung feels bad. 

He’s never felt so confused in his life. They’re still his parents, he should feel bad. 

But they threatened to kill Chenle, why would he ever feel bad for them? 

He wants to cry. 

“Come have breakfast with your father and I? We’ve been waiting to spend time with you,” she says, moving to sit on his bed. She’s smiling softly. 

Hesitantly, Jisung nods.

She gives him time to change, placing a pair of clean clothes at the foot of his bed. A pair of jeans and a t-shirt. A stark contrast from the usually black, fit, space-resilient clothes Chenle wears, and gives Jisung. Jisung dresses, then heads out of his room, padding down the hallway until he reaches a large room, with a high ceiling and a long table. 

His parents sit at the end of the table, and on one side it’s completely empty. On the other side, next to Jisung’s mom, sits Mark. 

Jisung freezes. 

“What is he doing here?” Jisung asks harshly. 

Jisung’s father smiles. “He’ll be joining us most of the time. Your mother and I are very grateful to him. If not for him, we wouldn’t have found you again.” 

“I didn’t want to be found,” Jisung spits. He walks over and roughly takes a seat. 

“Now Jisung, that’s rude.” A chill travels down Jisung’s spine. He looks up at his father, heart stopping when he sees the dangerous glint in his eyes. 

“Your friends are just downstairs. I would hate to pay them a visit.” 

Jisung wants to cry again. He looks across at Mark, who looks regretful. Mark raises his head. 

“Sir, we want Jisung to feel welcome, so he wants to stay,” Mark says pointedly, tone light. Jisung has never heard him talk like this before. 

Jisung’s father guffaws. “Don’t worry, dear boy, Jisung knows he is plenty welcome here, doesn’t he?” He turns to look at Jisung, his hand landing on Jisung’s shoulder. 

Jisung nods. 

He wants to throw up. 

“Now, Jisung, after breakfast I’d like to take you down to the communication center. I want to show you what your mother and I are in charge of, aside from protecting the emperor, of course.” 

Jisung looks at his father. 

He hates him. He hates him so much. And he feels so bad for thinking that. He’s his father! 

“Sir! You can’t!” Mark blurts out. 

Jisung’s father glares at Mark. 

“Wait, what is it?” 

“They’re going to show you the—” 

Mark is cut off as a knife flies past his head, just grazing the tip of his ear. 

Mark’s eyes widen in shock. Jisung’s heart skips a beat. Mark may have betrayed them, but he’s still Jisung’s friend. 

“What the hell!” Jisung says before he can stop himself. 

“Mark, are you—” 

“Everyone be quiet,” Jisung’s father says, voice calm. 

“Mark, you may be excused. Jisung, finish up your breakfast.” 

Terrified, Jisung does as he’s told, even though he has absolutely no appetite for any of the food in front of him. 

His own father is a monster. 

After he finishes his breakfast, somehow, his father stands, gesturing for Jisung to follow him down the hall. Jisung follows, his mother next to him. She gently takes his hand, talking to him about all the things she wants to show him. 

All Jisung can think is how vile it is to hold a hand that isn’t Chenle’s. 

They go to a large room, full of laptops and screens. Jisung’s father walks over to the large screen and begins typing on the keyboard next to it. He signs in. An image appears on the screen. 

It’s a woman, screaming. There’s blood on her shoulder and she’s holding a small child in her arms. She runs away from the camera, which seems to follow her. 

“What we’re watching is from a body cam of one of the soldiers. They’re currently in the town of Runulur.” 

Jisung is gonna pass out, or throw up, or both. 

He watches in horror as the woman drops to the ground, blood flowing from her leg. 

“No,” Jisung says. 

“No don’t! Don’t! Call the soldier off, she’s going to die!” He grabs his mom’s arm, she has to do something. 

He turns to look at her pleadingly, but she just smiles sadly. 

“This is war, honey.” 

Chenle called him honey. He’s gonna throw up. 

_ Bang! _

Jisung looks on the screen. The woman is dead. 

He’s gonna throw up. Bile rises in his throat. He pushes away from his parents and sprints over to the trash can by the door. He grips the sides of it, keeling over and emptying his breakfast into the trash can. 

He feels dizzy. He stumbles away from the can, only to be caught by two strong hands on his upper arms. 

He tries to pull away, scared that it’s his father, but he relaxes when he sees Mark is the one holding him. 

“Mark,” he murmurs. 

“Let’s get you out of here, Ji,” Mark says. He throws an arm over Jisung’s shoulder, leading him out of the door. 

“What about my parents?” Jisung mutters. 

“I’ll deal with them,” Mark says, leading Jisung through the halls. 

“You betrayed us.” 

Mark sighs. “And I regret it every single day, Jisung. It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.” 

Jisung looks at the ground. He feels disgusting. 

“I don’t forgive you.” 

“I know, that’s okay,” Mark says, but his tone is stiff. 

“Thank you for getting me out of there,” Jisung says quietly. 

Mark smiles, a real smile. “You’re welcome, Jisung.”

Mark leads him back to his bedroom, guiding him into the bathroom, where Jisung washes his hands and brushes his teeth. 

Once he’s feeling better, he turns to Mark. 

“Why?” 

Mark sighs deeply. 

“Sit down, there’s a lot I need to tell you.”


	16. From The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chenle hasn’t slept in a week. 
> 
> He’s searching for something, anything. Any hints, any answers, any leads. He needs to get Jisung back, he needs to free Donghyuck and Jeno. He needs plans and how to execute them. 
> 
> He’s debated calling Taeyong, but he hasn’t yet. He’s been staying awake with the juice of the caffeinated Pippin berry. That’s the most food he’s had. 
> 
> It’s fine, he’s half Berevian.

Chenle hasn’t slept in a week. 

He’s searching for something, anything. Any hints, any answers, any leads. He needs to get Jisung back, he needs to free Donghyuck and Jeno. He needs plans and how to execute them. 

He’s debated calling Taeyong, but he hasn’t yet. He’s been staying awake with the juice of the caffeinated Pippin berry. That’s the most food he’s had. 

It’s fine, he’s half Berevian. 

Renjun has been arguing that he’s half human too, but he’s ignored him. 

“Chenle,” Renjun says, landing a hand on his shoulder. 

“You need to sleep.” 

It’s the seventh day. Chenle finally found out which room Jisung is probably staying in. He doesn’t have any leads on the prison Donghyuck and Jeno are in. 

“I can’t find anything,” Chenle says, tears welling in his eyes. 

“That’s because you’re so tired,” Jaemin says, resting a hand on his other shoulder. 

“Go to bed, Chenle.” Renjun pulls him out of the chair, ushering him over to his cabin. 

Chenle looks at him pathetically, a tear dripping down his face. 

“Oh, Chenle,” Renjun murmurs. He wipes the tear from Chenle’s cheek. 

“It’s gonna be okay.” Renjun cups his face. 

“I miss Jisung,” Chenle cries. He misses him so much. Too much. It hurts. 

“Lele,” Renjun says, but Chenle just cries, tears turning into quiet sobs. Renjun pulls the taller boy into a hug, pressing his head into the crook of his neck. 

Jaemin walks over to them, rubbing Chenle’s back. 

“Chenle, it’s gonna be okay,” Jaemin says. 

Chenle just shakes his head, pulling away. 

Jaemin guides him over to his bed by the hand. 

“I can’t sleep without Jisung,” Chenle confesses. 

He tried the first night, he really tried. But he couldn’t, and it felt horrible, so he hasn’t tried again. 

“I’ll snuggle with you then,” Jaemin says. Renjun leans against the doorway. 

“I’ll watch over the ship,” Renjun says, raising a hand. 

Reluctantly, Chenle nods. He slips under the covers. Jaemin follows him, opening his arms. Chenle scooches into them. He rests his head on Jaemin’s chest, throwing his arm around Jaemin’s waist. Jaemin wraps both his arms around Chenle, holding him close. 

It’s just like how Jisung would hold him. 

Chenle can’t help but cry softly, silently sobbing. 

“Shhh,” Jaemin gently shushes him. He brings a hand up, threading it through Chenle’s hair. 

“It’s okay, Lele, it’s okay. You’ll be okay, he’ll be okay. Everything is gonna be okay.” 

Chenle cries himself to sleep, safe in Jaemin’s arms. 

* * *

“Where do you want me to start?” 

“From the beginning.” 

Mark and Jisung sit on Jisung’s plush carpet, next to his bed. They haven’t been bothered by Jisung’s parents yet, and Jisung is praying they aren’t. He really doesn’t want to see his father, or his mother who, unlike Mark, did nothing to protect Jisung. 

“Your parents were going to wait until you were eighteen, then pick you up and bring you home. Or, well, here. I agreed years ago to help them. My parents were friends with yours, but mine died in battle.” 

Jisung’s eyes widen in shock. “I’m sorry.” 

Mark shrugs. “It’s okay, they were assholes.” 

“But I had already agreed to help them retrieve you. They knew where you were. But one day things went wrong. The emperor refused to wait any longer in attacking your hometown. Chenle picked you up and their plan was thrown off.” 

Mark stands and begins to pace. “You would be taught about the war from the perspective that the empire was bad, that it was wrong. That was what I wasn’t taught.” 

“They knew Chenle was close to you, so they sent me to the resistance to get close to him, even before he picked you up. I was sent yet again to be close to you both, after I got out of jail. My job was to get you to your parents. It always has been.” 

Mark takes a deep breath. 

“Then two things happened. You fell in love, and I did, too, with Jaemin. But I was trapped. I couldn’t back out, I didn’t have a choice.” 

“But you did, you could’ve helped us,” Jisung says sadly. 

“They would’ve killed me, they could’ve killed all of us except you,” Mark pleads. 

“They almost killed Chenle! They might kill Donghyuck, or Jeno.” Jisung throws an arm out. 

“I can’t trust you, I really can’t, Mark.” 

Mark sighs. “I know, I just wanted you to know the full story.” 

“Jisung, I,” Mark gulps. “I want to do my best to protect you, I want to change.” 

Jisung doesn’t say anything. 

He doesn’t get the chance to, as his door opens and his mother steps in. 

“Mark, please go with the guards in the hall. Jisung, it’s lunch time.” 

Mark turns, making eye contact with Jisung.

“Please consider it, Jisung.” 

Jisung doesn’t know what he’s supposed to consider. Is he supposed to consider trusting Mark again? How can he. How can he when Mark chose his loyalties over his feelings for Jaemin. He doesn’t even feel half as strongly for Jisung. 

Or his fears. Jisung isn’t sure. Mark sounded scared. 

Jisung doesn’t know what to think anymore. 

He follows his mom out to the large room from before. This time it is only the three of them. 

“Jisung, my boy, what did you think of what I showed you?” His father asks, a sly grin on his face. It sends a chill down Jisung’s spine. 

“It was interesting,” Jisung answers carefully. He doesn’t even want to know what would happen if he answered wrong. 

Luckily, his father seems satisfied with his response. 

“Well done, Jisungie.” Jisung wants to puke at the nickname. “I’m proud of you. I hope tomorrow you will accompany me to watch as well.” 

“Maybe tomorrow you can stay the entire time.” 

Jisung is saved from a response by the door opening. 

Mark walks through, limping slightly. Jisung’s eyes widen. 

“Apologies for my tardiness,” Mark says, bowing. 

Mark takes his seat across from Jisung, and Jisung is scared to see that Mark is completely shaking. 

“Lovely of you to join us, Mark.” 

Jisung doesn’t eat anything. 

The rest of the meal finishes in silence. 

* * *

Jisung wakes up in a cold sweat. He shoots up in bed, heart pounding. 

In his dream, he didn’t reply fast enough, and Chenle was killed. 

He stands, gasping for breath. He walks over to the bathroom and shakily fills a glass of water. He almost drops the glass as he drinks.

The water is cold and refreshing. 

Jisung looks back at his reflection and almost lets out a scream when he sees someone else in his reflection. His scream is stopped by a hand clamping over his mouth.

The hand releases him and Jisung whips around, heart pounding in his chest. The man reaches up, pulling off his mask. 

It’s Mark. 

“Mark,” Jisung hisses. “What the fuck!” 

“Shh!” Mark shushes him harshly. 

“I’m taking you to see Jeno and Donghyuck, then we’re getting out of here before your parents kill us both.” 

Jisung’s eyes widen. “What did they do to you?” 

Mark waves a hand. “They didn’t like how I took you away from the communications room. My ankle will heal, it's fine.” 

Jisung stares. 

“It’s fine, Jisung. We need to go, now.” He grabs Jisung’s wrist and pulls him out of the bathroom. 

“W-wait.” Jisung digs his heels into the floor. 

“I can’t trust you, how do I know you aren’t bringing me somewhere else?” Jisung’s voice shakes. 

Mark looks at him quizzically. He takes the gun from his belt and presses it into Jisung’s hand. 

“If I take you somewhere else, then shoot me,” Mark says, staring Jisung down. 

Jisung gulps. He nods. 

Mark smiles. “Let’s get moving, then.” 

They creep down the halls, Mark brings him around the corner, then to some weird box. 

“What is this?” Jisung asks, staring wide-eyed at the box Mark pulled him into. Then the box starts moving down. 

“What?!” Jisung grabs the railing sticking out of the wall. 

Mark is stifling a laugh. “This is an elevator, it’s a replacement for stairs.” 

“Oh.” Jisung relaxes. Now he feels silly. 

The elevator takes them down far, to the fifth floor underground according to the buttons. 

Mark takes Jisung’s hand, pulling him down and through more halls until they reach a large steel door. Mark pulls a keycard from his pocket, swiping it against the sensor to the right of the door. 

“Stole this from your dad,” Mark mutters. The doors slide open, steel on steel screeching loudly. 

They finish opening with a loud boom, revealing one long hallway down the center and two down either side. The hallways are tall, with lights along the center of the ceiling. Lining the sides are prison cells. Jisung shudders. The last time he was in a prison he left with a bullet in his abdomen. 

“This way,” Mark pulls him down the right hallway. Then they take a left about three more halls down. 

“Here.” Mark reaches out, wiping the key card yet again. 

The doors open, giving them a perfect view of Donghyuck and Jeno. 

Who are making out. 

“Woah!” Mark yelps, reaching out to cover Jisung’s eyes. Jisung reaches up, lowering Mark’s hand. He’s not a kid, dammit.

“What are you two doing?” Mark hisses. 

Donghyuck scoffs. “What does it look like we’re doing?” He climbs off Jeno’s lap. 

Jeno sits up, then promptly stands. 

“And what do you think you’re—Jisung!” Jeno cuts himself off upon seeing Jisung. 

He grabs Jisung by his wrist and pulls him into the cell and into a hug. Jisung immediately hugs back, tears pricking at his eyes. 

“Jeno,” Jisung says quietly, melting into the hug. 

“I missed you,” Jisung buries his face in Jeno’s shoulder. Jeno gives such good hugs. 

“Jisung, what happened? Where have you been?” Jeno asks, pulling away. 

Jisung’s lower lip is trembling. He just shakes his head. 

“Jisung?” Donghyuck’s voice is so soft, so caring, Jisung can’t help but begin to cry. 

“It was so scary,” he cries. 

“My parents are alive, they were looking for me and just,” Donghyuck steps forward, pulling him into a big hug. 

“You’re okay, Jisung, Chenle and the others made it out.” 

Jisung doesn’t say anything, instead he just hugs Donghyuck tighter, slowing down his breathing. 

“And you, what the fuck do you think you’re doing,” Jeno spits, glaring at Mark. 

Jisung goes to pull away from Donghyuck but Donghyuck doesn’t let go, instead holding him protectively. 

“Hyuck, wait. Jeno, wait.” Jisung shoves himself out of Donghyuck’s grip. 

“Mark’s been helping me while I’ve been stuck with my parents,” Jisung tells them. 

“He’s,” he glances at Mark, “he’s trying to change.” 

“But we need to leave, please, my parents are brutal. I don’t want them to hurt you,” Jisung pleads. 

“Jisung, I’m really not sure we can trust Mark.” 

Mark sighs. “I gave Jisung my blaster. I told him if I broke his trust, he could shoot me.” 

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. “You’re still alive, shocker.”

Jeno snorts. 

Mark is about to speak when he’s cut off by shouts and footsteps. 

“He’s missing! The Park’s son is missing.” 

Jisung’s blood runs cold. He looks to Mark, panicked. 

“On second thought, we’ll come back to you, we promise.” 

Jeno crosses his arms. “Sure, Markie, sure.” 

“Remember, Mark, if you lay a finger on him, I’ll kill you,” Donghyuck threatens.

“See you guys soon.” He pulls Jisung out of the cell then closes the cell door just as the guards round the corner. 

Terrified, Jisung scoots behind Mark. 

“There you are. Your parents are looking all over for you. You’re in big trouble, young man.” 

Jisung doesn’t say a word. 

“No, guard sir, it’s my bad. He wanted to speak to his friends so I took him to see them.” 

The guard lowers his weapon. “I see.” 

“It’s quite alright, I’ll escort him back to his room. You can tell his parents that I have him,” Mark says confidently, a winning smile on his face. 

The guards exchange a look but leave, speaking into their wrists. 

“We need to leave, now.” Mark reaches back, taking Jisung’s wrist in his hands. He breaks into a sprint, hurrying out of the prison. 

“Leave?” Jisung asks, shocked. Mark pulls him back to an elevator, pressing a button that has a small ship on it. 

“Mark, what are you talking about? We can’t just leave, I’m still in my pajamas.” 

Mark smiles at that. 

But then his expression darkens. “Jisung, we can’t stay here.” 

“So you’re turning on the empire? And my parents?” 

Mark gives a thin smile. “I am.” 

The elevator door opens, Mark pulls Jisung out of it and down the hall. Jisung runs after him. 

“But why, why suddenly change your mind?” 

“I can no longer protect you here, and I made a mistake. I fucked up big time and I need to fix it.” 

Mark pulls him over to a door, sliding his keycard through it and pulling Jisung into the hangar. He opens a small ship, one meant for two or three people. 

It really is small, with red wings and a black body. It resembles a blackbird. 

“Come on,” Mark says, pulling Jisung up the ship. Jisung walks to the co-pilot’s chair. His heart aches. He misses  _ his _ pilot. 

“You’ll see him soon, Jisung. I can track their ship using their ship ID.” 

“You know it?” Jisung asks, surprised. 

Mark nods. “I had to memorize it when I was tracking you.” He gulps. 

“Oh, I guess it’s a good thing then.” 

Mark looks surprised at Jisung’s response. 

“I still don’t trust you,” Jisung mutters. 

“But I’m trying.” 

Mark smiles. 

“Thank you, Jisung.” 

“Now, let’s get you back where you belong.”


	17. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chenle’s parked on a small moon on the eastern edge of the northern quadrant. 
> 
> “We’ll be there soon,” Mark assures him after Jisung’s stomach grumbles. 
> 
> Jisung lazily stares out the front windshield, watching as they pass stars and nebulas, planets and asteroids. They fly completely under the radar, passing by empire ships with ease.

“Do you trust him?” Jeno asks, from where’s he’s lying on the floor of the cell, legs leaning against the wall. 

Donghyuck lowers himself from his handstand. “No,” he scoffs, brushing off his jeans. 

“I trust Jisung, but Jisung hasn’t been in this business for long, he’s still naive.” 

“Okay. I’m glad we’re on the same page, babe.” 

Donghyuck wrinkles his nose. “Ew, since when do you call me babe?”

Jeno turns to sit normally. 

“Donghyuck, we spend half our time in here making out.” 

Donghyuck shrugs. “Yeah, that’s fair.” 

“We’re gonna have quite a bit to say to Renjun after this,” Jeno remarks. 

Donghyuck laughs loudly. “No shit.” 

“I will say,” Donghyuck walks over to Jeno, dropping his head on his shoulder, “we are lucky we’re both crushing on the same boy.” 

Jeno smiles. “We sure are.” He drops his head onto Donghyuck’s. 

“Do you think Mark’s coming back?” Jeno asks after a few moments of silence. 

“I think Jisung is.” 

Jeno hums. “Me, too. I just hope the kid’s okay.” 

“He’s a good kid. I can’t believe what happened with his parents, though,” Donghyuck muses. 

“Taeyong told us all about it, because, of course, resistance business, the empire’s looking for this kid. I was shocked when he turned out to be the boy Chenle was crushing on so hard,” Jeno explains. “They’re disgustingly cute.”

“Dude, we’ve spent a week making out.” 

Jeno reaches over and smacks him. 

“Hey!” 

“You deserved that one.” 

“Yeah, yeah, just get your dumb ass down here,” Donghyuck says. He sits up, grabbing the collar of Jeno’s shirt. 

He pulls Jeno down, pressing his lips to his. Jeno kisses back eagerly. 

A few seconds later, Jeno pulls away. 

“We will get out of here, right?” 

“Yeah, we’ll get out of here.” 

* * *

When Jisung wakes up, they’re still flying. He had finally passed out after about five hours. It was just their luck that the ship Mark picked didn’t have hyperspace enabled. 

Jisung didn’t mean to fall asleep. The thought of it freaked him out, considering he still doesn’t trust Mark. But he couldn’t help it. He was so exhausted from a week of constant fear from his parents. The first six days were tame. He barely saw them except that last day, with the communications room. 

Jisung is trying not to think about it. 

Chenle’s parked on a small moon on the eastern edge of the northern quadrant. 

“We’ll be there soon,” Mark assures him after Jisung’s stomach grumbles. 

Jisung lazily stares out the front windshield, watching as they pass stars and nebulas, planets and asteroids. They fly completely under the radar, passing by empire ships with ease. 

Finally, after Jisung takes three more short naps, the red spot on Mark’s map blinks as they come across a small, gray moon. One with a giant crater out of the side of it. 

“There!” Jisung shouts. He can see a small ship sitting on it. 

Mark swerves down, breaking the atmosphere and landing a hundred or so feet from the ship. 

“Does it have oxygen?” Jisung asks. Mark checks the dial. 

“Yep.” 

Jisung pumps a fist into the air. 

He shakily runs through the ship, opening the hangar and stepping onto the ground. His heart is pounding in his chest. 

He begins to sprint towards Chenle’s ship, recognizing the peeling yellow and red paint. 

“Chenle!” He shouts. Three figures sit in a circle around a fire on the ground. 

The figure closest to him stands. 

“Hello?” 

Jisung almost cries hearing his boyfriend’s voice. 

“Chenle!” 

“Jisung?” Chenle sounds disbelieving. 

Jisung slows, panting. Chenle’s running towards him now. 

Chenle runs up to him, pausing a few feet away. 

“Jisung?” Chenle’s voice breaks. 

“Hi, Lele,” Jisung stands, opening his arms. 

Chenle launches himself into them, bringing Jisung into the fiercest hug Jisung has ever received. Chenle holds Jisung so tightly Jisung thinks he might explode, but he’s never been happier than he is right now. He wraps his arms around Chenle. Chenle’s head is in the crook of his neck. Jisung rests his head on Chenle’s shoulder. 

Then Chenle’s shoulders begin to shake. Chenle’s grip on him weakens. 

“Lele?” Jisung says, concerned. 

Chenle just shakes his head. 

“I was so scared, Jisung,” Chenle says, voice breaking. 

Jisung watches as Chenle falls apart in his arms, sobbing.

“Oh, Lele.” Jisung slips his arms under Chenle’s and wraps them around his back. Chenle wraps his arms around Jisung’s neck, still burying his face there. 

Jisung moves his hand up and down Chenle’s back, rubbing it soothingly. 

“I’m right here,” Jisung reassures, a tear dripping down his cheek. It hurts to see Chenle crying so much. 

“I was so scared, Ji, I didn’t know if I’d see you again.” Jisung rests his cheek on Chenle’s hair. 

“I’m sorry,” Jisung whispers. 

“No, you dummy,” Chenle pulls away finally, looking up at Jisung.

“I’m just glad you’re back here with me.” 

He reaches up, cupping Jisung’s cheeks with both hands. 

Chenle pulls Jisung down, then stands on his tiptoes and presses his lips to Jisung’s. Jisung kisses back quickly, resting his hands on Chenle’s hips. 

The kiss tastes like salt. It’s wet from Chenle’s tears, but Jisung doesn’t care. He’s missed this so much. 

Chenle pulls away after a couple seconds, and Jisung looks up to see Renjun and Jaemin smiling at them. 

“Renjun, Jaemin,” Jisung says. Chenle lets go of him, letting him go give Renjun and Jaemin big hugs. 

“It’s good to see you again, kid,” Jaemin says. 

“And I’m just glad you don’t have another bullet wound,” Renjun jokes. Jisung winces, but laughs.

The Jaemin freezes, looking past Jisung. He draws his blaster and points it past Jisung. 

“Not another fucking step, Lee,” Jaemin says. 

Jisung turns, only for Chenle to move in front of him. 

“Wait, wait,” Jisung tries to say. Chenle reaches back, slipping Jisung’s hand into his own. 

“Jaemin, wait, he brought me here, he helped me out.” 

“I don’t care,” Jaemin says harshly. “I watched him shoot two of our friends without any mercy, and he led us into a trap.” 

“Yeah, about that.” Renjun pushes past Jaemin. He stalks forward and punches Mark in the face. 

Mark stumbles backwards, bringing his hand up to his face. 

“You fucking dickwad, where the fuck are my boyfriends.” 

“Are they boyfriends?” Jisung whispers to Chenle. 

Chenle shrugs. “Not yet that I knew, but they may as well be.” 

“I know where they are, I can get you to them.” Mark says, holding his eye. 

“Great. Take me, right now.” 

“Renjun, wait!” Jaemin shouts. He walks forward, grabs Renjun by his wrist and pulls him back. Then Jaemin raises his blaster again. 

“We can’t trust him.” 

“Guys, he’s—” Jisung tries again. 

“You fucking betrayed us, and you broke my heart, you absolute dick.” Jaemin cuts him off. 

“Give me one good reason not to stun you right here and leave you on this fucking moon,” Jaemin threatens. 

“Jaemin, wait!” Jisung shouts. He gently pushes past Chenle to stand in front of Jaemin. He puts his hands out. 

“Mark saved me. He got me out of there and we tried to get Jeno and Donghyuck, too, but they refused to come with us.” 

“Fucking dumbasses,” Renjun mutters. 

“Mark had my back the entire time my parents were being,” he winces, “not the best.” 

“Jisung, he betrayed you! He betrayed all of us!” Chenle cries. “Do you really trust him? I can’t lose you again.” 

Jisung shakes his head. “No, I don’t, but he’s our best bet.”

“And what makes you say that?” Jaemin says, arms crossed. 

“I have a keycard.” Mark raises his keycard. “I stole it from Jisung’s father. It has access everywhere.” 

“Great, give me the keycard.” Mark tosses Chenle the keycard without a moment’s hesitation. 

“Chill, okay we don’t need Mark anymore.” 

“Chenle!” 

Chenle cackles to himself. “What? That was great!” 

“I’m with Chenle. Mark betrayed us, I don’t want to see his ugly face,” Jaemin spits. 

“Mark, do you know where the prison cell is?” Renjun turns to him, arms crossed. 

Mark nods. “I do.” 

“Fuck,” Chenle curses. “I don’t want him on my ship.” 

“I don’t care what information he may have, unless it’s—” 

“I know the date of the invasion.” 

Chenle stops. 

“You what? No way.” 

Mark nods. 

“Wait, wait, what invasion? What are you talking about?” Jisung asks. 

“I don’t believe you,” Chenle scoffs. 

“I swear on my life,” Mark says. 

“You think I care about that?” 

Jisung winces. 

“I swear on Jaemin’s life.” 

Jaemin pales. “You can’t do that.” 

“How do you know that date?” Chenle asks, crossing his arm. 

“Jisung’s father is the head of communications and colonization movements. He’s their military leader. I was his right-hand man until two days ago.” 

Chenle closes his eyes. 

“What’s the date?”

“April. April twenty-third.” 

“How can I trust you?” 

“Give me a chance,” Mark pleads. 

“I made a mistake. It was the worst mistake of my life, and I am so sorry.” 

Mark takes a deep breath. 

“I was given my mission years ago, and I didn’t account for falling in love, or that Jisung’s parents would be so horrible.” 

“Don’t you fucking dare say you fell in love with me, you absolute ass!” Jaemin shouts. 

“You can’t fucking say that! Not after you betrayed us, not after you shot my friends, not after you tore those two apart!” Jaemin is furious. Angry tears drip down his face. 

“I thought I loved you, I thought we had something. But apparently fucking not.” With that, Jaemin turns and stalks onto the ship. 

“Jaemin wait.” But it’s too late, Jaemin has already walked up the ramp to the ship. 

Jisung takes a deep breath. 

“Everyone wait, just listen to me, please. Mark is the only reason I got through this past week. He had my back when I was completely alone with two horrible,” Chenle squeezes his hand, “parents.” 

“Mark helped me when I threw up after my father made me watch someone get murdered as an example of war, to show what he does for them.” 

Mark looks down at his feet. 

“He guided me out of the room, helped me back to mine, and then we talked, and he told me the truth. They hurt him after, because he helped me.” 

Jisung’s hands are shaking. 

“And then, that night, Mark brought me to see Jeno and Donghyuck. Then we left.” 

He turns to Mark. 

“Mark, could you tell them why you decided to leave?” 

Mark takes a deep breath. 

“I couldn’t protect Jisung anymore. And I wanted to fix my mistake.” 

Chenle fixes Mark with a pointed gaze. Jisung squeezes his hand. 

“Chenle, please,” Jisung whispers. Mark deserves a second chance. 

“Thank you for protecting my Jisung. You can come with us, and prove yourself.” 

Mark lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Chenle.” 

“Don’t say it, prove it. If you mess up again, I will not hesitate to shoot you in the leg and leave you on some random planet full of boobans.” 

Mark nods. “I understand.” 

“Come on, Jisungie.” Chenle pulls Jisung towards the ship. 

Jisung follows, waddling on like a duck. He inhales deeply as he boards the ship. God, he’s missed this place so much, he tears up a little bit. 

“Awww,” Chenle coos, reaching up to wipe an escaped tear. “You big baby, the ship has missed you, too, I’m sure.” 

Chenle stands on his tiptoes, pressing a quick kiss to Jisung’s cheek. 

“Let’s go sit.” 

Jisung takes a wonderful five minutes to spin in the copilot’s chair. 

“Come on, silly duck.” 

Jisung frowns. “Chenle, it’s silly goose.” 

Chenle just waves his hand, taking his seat in the pilot’s chair. 

He leans over, pecking Jisung on the lips. 

“I’m glad you’re my copilot again. No offense to Jaemin.” 

“It’s fine, I get it, Chenle,” Jaemin says, fake annoyance in his tone. 

Chenle giggles. 

Jisung is so happy to be back. 

“Hey, Chenle,” Jisung asks, once they’re in the sky. 

“What was that invasion you were talking about earlier?” 

“Ahh,” Chenle says. He presses the button for autopilot. 

“The invasion of Yangzhu. The last standing force against the Välde, and the last chance to make a stand against the empire’s regime.” 

“If Yangzhu falls, it’s all over.”


	18. Ceasefire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jisung wouldn’t trade anything in the universe for waking up with Chenle in his arms. 
> 
> He slept the best he’s slept in a week, back on the stupid thin mattress with the flimsy thin blanket holding the one person in the universe he loves like no one else. 
> 
> “Good morning, cutie,” Chenle greets, yawning and stretching. 
> 
> Jisung blushes at the nickname. “Good morning, Lele.”
> 
> Chenle settles back down on his chest, looking up at him and smiling lazily. 
> 
> Jisung wishes they could stay like this forever. That there was no war, their friends weren’t in jail, and he could just stay with Chenle for the rest of the millennium.

“Jeno, Jen, wake up.” 

Jeno is shaken awake too soon after having gone to sleep. When he opens his eyes, he sees Donghyuck frantically shaking him. 

“Hyuckie? What’s wrong?” 

Donghyuck gulps. “I heard them talking outside. They want to take us somewhere.” 

Jeno shoots up. 

“What? Donghyuck, what are you talking about?” 

“I don’t know Jen, they just,” he looks around the room, “they were talking about taking us somewhere else. I’m scared they’re gonna separate us.” 

Jeno reaches out, pulling Donghyuck close to him and tucking the boy under his arm.

“We’ll be fine, Donghyuck, we just have to hold out.” 

The door to their cell screeches open, and a tall guard walks in. 

“It’s okay, we’ll stay together.” 

* * *

Jisung wouldn’t trade anything in the universe for waking up with Chenle in his arms. 

He slept the best he’s slept in a week, back on the stupid thin mattress with the flimsy thin blanket holding the one person in the universe he loves like no one else. 

“Good morning, cutie,” Chenle greets, yawning and stretching. 

Jisung blushes at the nickname. “Good morning, Lele.”

Chenle settles back down on his chest, looking up at him and smiling lazily. 

Jisung wishes they could stay like this forever. That there was no war, their friends weren’t in jail, and he could just stay with Chenle for the rest of the millennium. 

But then their peaceful moment is interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. 

“Hey, lovebirds, it’s wake up time.” Renjun’s voice travels through the door. 

Jisung frowns. Maybe it’s because he just spent a week without Chenle—that’s a whole lot longer when your days are fifty-seven hours long, the time based on the largest star in the universe—but Jisung really doesn’t want to get up. 

“Come on, get up,” Chenle reaches up, poking Jisung in the cheek.

Chenle rolls off the bed, leaving Jisung cold and without the comforting weight on his chest. Reluctantly, he sits up. 

“Let’s go, cutie.” Chenle grabs Jisung’s hands, pulling him up off the bed. 

They each change, then leave the room, brush their teeth, and head out to the cockpit where Mark, Jaemin, and Renjun are already buckled in and ready to fly. 

“Alright, losers and Jisung,” Chenle announces, cracking his knuckles. 

“Let’s go save our dumbass friends!” He shouts, eliciting cheers from all their other friends. Including Mark, who Chenle then turns to glare at. 

Chenle takes his seat in the pilot’s chair, and Jisung in the copilot’s chair. He has missed this so much. 

“I know I said this yesterday, but, I’m glad you’re back in that chair again,” Chenle says quietly as the ship takes off the ground. 

“I’m glad I’m back here, too,” Jisung beams. 

Once they reach space, Chenle turns them around, then reaches up, pulling the hyperspace lever without hesitation. 

The jump into hyperspace is smooth. Seconds later, they’re back to normal flying as Chenle brings the lever back up again. 

Thank goodness that worked. 

“Alright,” Chenle says, spinning around in his chair after setting the ship on autopilot.

“We have all access, so all we need to do is sneak around and not get caught,” Chenle says. 

“You two know where they are, yes?” He gestures to Jisung and Mark, who both nod. 

“Good, now let’s get in and get out.” 

Chenle flies through the peaks of the building (castle? Castle.) and lands on the landing pad to the east of the castle. 

Chenle lands the ship with ease. The five of them clamber out of it, Chenle leading the way. Chenle slips his hand into Jisung’s. 

Using Mark’s stolen keycard, they slip into the building, hurrying over to the nearest elevator and slipping inside. Luckily it’s a rather spacious elevator, so all five of them fit in it with no issues. 

The elevator takes them down to the fifth floor under. 

Chenle goes to lead them out first but Mark steps out before him. Chenle glares at the back of Mark’s head. 

“There are lots of guards,” Mark whispers, “I’m going to shoot them.” 

“Yeah, we all know you’re good at that,” Renjun hisses. 

A brief flash of hurt shows on Mark’s face, but is gone within seconds. 

Jisung’s heart pangs. He just wants to trust Mark again, and be Mark’s friend again, but he can’t. 

Chenle notices Jisung’s sudden shift in mood, and squeezes his hand. 

“What’s up?” he whispers. 

Jisung just motions towards Mark. Chenle nods in understanding. 

“I know, I wish he didn’t even do it in the first place,” Chenle mutters. 

Up ahead, Mark fires his blaster numerous times, then waves for them to follow. They reach the large grey prison doors with surprising ease. Mark slips his keycard in, then opens them. 

They slip into the prison. This time, Mark closes the door behind them so it won’t be obvious that they’re present. 

Mark leads them down the hall and around the corner, just like last time. 

But something feels wrong. Very wrong. 

“Wait!” Jisung cries, just before Mark slips the keycard into the cell, opening it up. 

He lets go of Chenle’s hand to sprint forward. 

“They aren’t in there.” 

“What?” Renjun asks, appalled. “how do you know?” 

“I just know they aren’t in there, it’s my gut feeling.” 

“Can’t we check and look?” Mark reaches forward again. 

“No! Don’t, I have a bad feeling about it.” Jisung can’t describe it, but the thought of opening up that cell is setting off every single possible warning bell in Jisung’s head. 

“Jisung, hon, I trust your gut but, shouldn’t we at least check?” Chenle steps forward, placing a hand on Jisung’s shoulder. 

“Wait,” Jaemin says. Jaemin is hunched over, holding something up to his nose and sniffing. 

“This saliva was on the floor. That’s a Nonnolo in there.” 

“What’s a Nonnolo?” Jisung asks, confused. 

“It’s a large, bear-like creature. It’s known for being extremely violent towards anything with two legs. They’re from Echincia.” 

Jisung has no idea what a bear is, but judging by the tone of Jaemin’s voice and the words ‘extremely violent,’ Jisung has a feeling things would get ugly fast. 

“And luckily for us, they have very distinct saliva.” 

“How the fuck do you know all that?” Renjun asks, looking at him in surprise. 

“Oh, I was attacked by one as a kid.” 

“You what!?” Chenle stares at him in shock. 

Jaemin nods. “I only lived because a Välde soldier saved me. That was in my village growing up.” 

“Wait, a Välde soldier saved you?” Renjun asks, skeptical. 

“Yep!” Jaemin says brightly. For an experience that sounds so traumatic, Jaemin sure is talking about it lightheartedly. 

“Okay, as cool as it is to learn Jaemin’s backstory, we really should keep moving,” Mark, ever the voice of reason and fun-squashing, speaks up. 

“Wait,” Chenle says, “can we at least check? We can peer through the bars all the way up there.” 

Mark and Jisung exchange a look, but Mark nods. 

“I’ll look. Jaemin, let me climb onto your shoulders,” Renjun offers, raising a hand. 

Jaemin crouches so Renjun can climb up. 

Renjun climbs onto his shoulders, peering forward and through the bars of the cage. 

All of the sudden, they hear a loud roar, then something throws itself against the opposite side of the door of the prison cell. 

Jisung jumps back, startled. Renjun very quickly climbs down from Jaemin’s shoulders. 

“Jaemin, I don’t know how the fuck you survived an attack from one of those, you’re lucky to be alive. That was horrifying. We need to get out of here,” Renjun says, expression panicked. 

“Jisung, I don’t know what you had for breakfast but thank you to your gut for saving all of our lives.” 

Jisung just nods. He’s pretty grateful to his gut too. 

“There’s another prison further downstairs, we can look there next,” Mark says, leading them out of the first prison. 

“Mark, I’m letting you know right now, if you lie one bit, or take us anywhere else, I won’t hesitate to stun you,” Chenle says carefully. 

Mark nods. “I understand.” 

“Good.” 

They make it back to the elevator without any problems. This time, Mark presses the button furthest down. The elevator ride is much longer as they travel to the bottom of the building.

When they exit the elevator door, it’s directly into the prison. They’re surrounded by rows upon rows of cells. 

“This way,” Renjun says, leading them down to the right.

The hall is quiet, save for soft cries. 

“That’s Donghyuck,” Renjun says, tone sharp. His face is etched with worry. 

“What?” Mark asks, but Renjun doesn’t answer. 

Renjun begins to run, darting around the corner, then another corner. He weaves through the jail. The rest of them are stuck running after him. 

Finally Renjun stops in front of a cell near the very back. 

“Mark, give me the card.” 

“I’ve got i—” 

“Mark! Give me the damn card!” Renjun shouts. Mark tosses him the card without another word.

Renjun slides it through the card reader. 

There’s a figure slumped in the corner of the cell, shaking, curled up on themselves. 

“Donghyuck?” Renjun carefully walks over to the person. 

Donghyuck’s head flies up. His eyes are bloodshot and there are tear tracks down his face. 

“Renjun,” Donghyuck’s voice cracks. Donghyuck stands, shaking. Renjun hurries over, collecting the other boy in his arms. 

Donghyuck looks beaten and bruised, and positively wrecked. He begins to cry in Renjun’s arms. Shoulders shaking, he sobs loudly. 

“They’re hurting him,” he wails. 

Jisung feels like he’s gonna throw up. What was he thinking? This was all because Mark and Jisung left without taking them with them. 

This is all his fault. Donghyuck and Jeno’s pain is his fault. 

Bile rises in his throat. He turns and runs out of the cell, trying to get a decent distance away before emptying the entirety of his stomach on the floor of the prison. 

“Jisung.” Chenle’s hand lands on his shoulder. Jisung hadn’t realized he followed him. 

“I’m fine.” Jisung wipes his mouth. “Donghyuck isn’t.” 

Shaking, Jisung walks back to the cell. Chenle slips an arm around his waist, supporting him. 

Renjun is still holding Donghyuck when they return. Finally, Donghyuck pulls away. Jaemin steps forward, hugging him instead. 

“Hi, Hyuck,” Jaemin says, rubbing his back. 

“Where’s Jeno?” Chenle asks. Renjun nudges him. He could have been a little more tactful. 

Donghyuck just shakes his head. “He’ll be back soon, they took him a while ago.” 

“Should we just wait then?” Renjun asks. 

Donghyuck shakes his head again. “The sooner we find him the better, I can take you to where he is but it would mean giving ourselves away.” 

Jisung and Mark exchange a look. 

“No,” Chenle says, with a tone of finality. 

“We can’t risk Jisung’s parents knowing we’re here, we’ll hide in here with you until Jeno gets back.”

Donghyuck doesn’t seem to like his answer, but nods nonetheless. 

Mark closes the door, enveloping them in darkness. 

“Chenle?” Jisung asks, reaching out for his boyfriend. He doesn’t like being unable to see anything. 

Chenle slips his hand into his, pulling him over to the opposite corner from the others. They sit, curled up next to one another. 

There, they wait in silence. Nobody says a word. 

They wait. 

And wait. 

And wait. 

Until finally, just as Jisung is beginning to doze off, the door to the cell opens and Jeno is shoved in. Jeno stumbles, hitting the ground. 

Chenle whips his blaster from his belt, shooting the guard who threw Jeno before he can move to close the cell door. 

“Jeno!” Renjun whisper-shouts. He moves forward, taking Jeno’s head in his lap. 

Jeno comes around rather quickly, groaning and pushing himself up. 

“Renjun? Am I dreaming.” Renjun smiles softly. 

“No, silly, you aren’t dreaming.” He runs his hands through Jeno’s hair. 

“We’re here to break you out!” Chenle exclaims, scooting over to Jeno, who’s now sitting up. 

“Chenle!” Jeno’s face breaks into a large grin. He pulls Chenle into a big hug. 

“Alright then, we need to leave, now.” Jeno stands, only to almost immediately topple over. Renjun is quick to catch him, holding him up. 

“What did they do to you …” Renjun mutters. 

Jeno shrugs. “I think my leg is broken.” 

“What?” Jisung stares. 

It’s his fault. 

“Jeno, I’m so sorry,” Jisung walks forward, taking Jeno from Renjun to give him a large hug himself. 

Jeno smiles softly. “For what, Ji?” 

“For leaving you here—for leaving. Because I left, that’s why my parents did this. They told me they’d hurt you guys if I misbehaved, then I went and left. We should’ve waited until you could come with us.” 

“Jisung, I don’t blame you,” Jeno says softly, in a tone that makes Jisung want to cry. 

“We need to leave, now.” Jaemin cuts off Jeno before he can say another word. Jaemin’s hand is on the floor. 

“There are people coming. A lot of them. Jeno, you can get on my back, I’ll carry you.” Jeno nods, walking over to Jaemin and clambering onto his back. 

“Donghyuck, can you walk? Or well, run?” 

Donghyuck pushes himself up, standing with the help of the wall.

“I don’t think so. I’m sorry.”

“Great. Jisung, you carry Donghyuck, you’re tall.” Jisung nods. 

Donghyuck hobbles over to him. Jisung squats and Donghyuck climbs onto his back.

“Alright, let’s go,” Jaemin orders. “Mark, you lead.” 

“Hold up,” Jeno says, once Mark steps in front. 

“I’m not going anywhere with him,” Jeno protests. 

“Well, unfortunately for you, Jen, you don’t have a choice. We’re leaving. Mark is the only reason we found you in the first place,” Jaemin says, lips pursed. 

“Fine,” Jeno grumbles. Jaemin begins to run. Jisung will admit, keeping up is a lot more difficult with another human on his back, but they make it to the elevator just fine. 

“I’m not in shape enough,” Jisung says, letting Donghyuck off his back. 

“That’s okay, Ji,” Chenle says, resting a hand on Jisung’s upper arm. Running is one thing, carrying someone is another, but the two together when Jisung is also panicked? He feels horrible, but he just can’t do it. 

“I can take him?” Mark suggests shyly. 

“No, I hate you,” Donghyuck bites. 

“Well, I’m not carrying you,” Chenle says, arms crossed, “I would, but I’m on gun duty.” He spins his blaster in his hands. 

“Fine,” Donghyuck spits. He angrily climbs onto Mark’s back, purposefully placing his elbows on Mark’s shoulders where it’ll hurt. 

“Donghyuck,” Renjun chides. 

“What! Have you forgotten that he literally betrayed us!” 

“Of course we haven’t. We don’t trust him, but he has helped us—a lot,” Renjun says. 

The elevator dings and the doors open. Chenle raises his blasters, having gotten a second from Mark. 

He walks out like that. Jisung watches as Chenle begins to shoot the guards in sight. 

He motions for them to keep moving, and they do, sneaking along the walls behind Chenle. 

Then, Jisung’s parents step into the hallway, guns raised. 

Chenle doesn’t waste a single second, stunning both of them with his blasters. 

“Chenle!” Jisung exclaims. 

“God, I’ve wanted to do that for weeks!” Chenle says brightly. As they walk past Jisung’s parents, Chenle makes it a point to kick Jisung’s dad in the leg. 

They make it to the hangar without running into anyone else, sprinting towards Chenle’s ship. They board it quickly. 

Then finally, the seven of them take off together again.


	19. The Price of the Map

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You want to give me your friend for a map?” 
> 
> Chenle watches as Jeno nods. “Yes, his name is Mark, he betrayed us, we don’t want him, but we need your map.”
> 
> “Damn,” Yukhei says.
> 
> It was Chenle’s idea to visit the pirates, figuring they had any and everything in the galaxy, and would absolutely have the map they needed. 
> 
> Turns out they were right. Yukhei and his crew, Sicheng, Ten, and Yangyang, do have the map they need. 
> 
> “Well bring him out here, I need to see how cute he is.”

The ship is silent. 

Chenle and Jisung have been in their respective pilot seats since they took off about fifteen minutes ago. Chenle hypersped them into the western quadrant, as far as possible from the Välde. 

Currently, they’re parked behind an asteroid. 

A classic. 

“Why, Mark?” Jeno asks, breaking the silence. 

Mark takes a deep breath. 

“I agreed to help the Park family retrieve their son before I met any of you. My parents were friends with theirs. It was written in the stars that I was to help them.” 

Mark looks down at the floor.

“They were planning to retrieve their son when he turned eighteen, then introduce him to the war. However,” Mark looks up at Chenle, “the emperor insisted they accelerate their plans and attack Jisung’s town. Chenle happened to be there and Jisung went with him.” 

“As you know, I was in jail at the time. Chenle and I already knew each other because they ordered me to join the resistance to get close to him, after seeing that Chenle was close to their son. When you guys broke me out, it was perfect. Jisung was right there.” 

“I would be able to complete my mission, which had never changed. Get the Parks their son.” 

Mark turns to look up at the ceiling. The entire room is tense. 

“But I saw how happy Chenle and Jisung were together, and then I found my own happiness. I regret what I did every single day, I should’ve told you all the truth, I should’ve called up the Parks and called it off. It was the biggest mistake of my life.” 

“That still doesn’t explain why you stunned us,” Donghyuck says. He and Jeno sit on either side of Renjun, who has a grip on each of their arms and is glaring at Mark. 

“They told me they wanted Jisung’s friends, too, so they could force Jisung to behave.” 

“They what?!” Chenle shouts, standing. 

Mark winces, nodding. 

“Jisung, what did they do to you,” Chenle whispers, worry etched onto his face. 

“Nothing, really. My dad just showed me his job,” Jisung winces, “and my mom was just sickeningly sweet the entire time. I spent most of the time in my room. They didn’t even bother me until the sixth day.” 

Chenle lets out a breath. 

“They want him to follow in their footsteps,” Jeno says. 

Chenle and Mark both stare at him, shocked. 

“How do you know that?” 

“Taeyong kept tabs on Jisung, even after Chenle left the resistance. He wanted to know why, there had to be a reason they were after you so much.” Jeno gulps. 

“Taeyong used to work with Mr. Park. He’s a cruel, ruthless man, he wouldn’t love and care for a son.” 

Jisung stares at his hands. Chenle takes his hand, scooting his chair over. 

“So you all knew they were alive, and no one told me.” Jisung looks around the room. Jaemin, Renjun, and Donghyuck all shrug, while Chenle, Jeno and Mark continue to look guilty. 

Jisung sighs. 

“I’m sorry, Ji, I really am.” 

“It’s fine, I’m over it,” Jisung brushes it off. It only stings a bit. Chenle’s reasoning he at least understands, even if his boyfriend was just being dumb. 

The room falls silent yet again. 

“Are you three dating now?” Chenle asks, pointing at the Jeno-Renjun-Donghyuck trio. 

Jeno grins. “Hell yeah, we are.” 

Chenle nods, proud. “Good, it was painful watching Renjun mope while you two were gone.” 

Renjun sticks his tongue out. 

“Alright, next order of business,” Jeno says, standing. 

“We need a map to Yangzhu.” 

* * *

“You want to give me your friend for a map?” 

Chenle watches as Jeno nods. “Yes, his name is Mark, he betrayed us, we don’t want him, but we need your map.”

“Damn,” Yukhei says.

It was Chenle’s idea to visit the pirates, figuring they had any and everything in the galaxy, and would absolutely have the map they needed. 

Turns out they were right. Yukhei and his crew, Sicheng, Ten, and Yangyang, do have the map they need. 

“Well bring him out here, I need to see how cute he is.” 

Jeno and Chenle were sent out to do the trade, while Donghyuck and the rest stayed in the ship. Jeno could walk again, using crutches from Renjun, who kindly wrapped his and Donghyuck’s injuries. 

“Mark! Come down here!” Jeno calls. 

Mark, confused, pokes his head off the ship, then walks down the ramp. He’s followed by Jisung and Jaemin. Renjun and Donghyuck both take a seat on the ramp. 

“He is pretty cute, that sounds like a fair trade to me,” Yukhei says, shrugging. 

“Wait, what?” Jisung asks. He looks at Chenle, eyes blown wide with surprise. Oh, his Jisungie is so cute when he’s surprised. 

“Don’t worry about it, Sung,” Jeno says, smiling. “We just got the map.” 

“Hold up, no, you cannot trade my boyfriend to some,” Jaemin gestures wildly, “some pirate! You dick, Jeno, come on.” 

Yukhei stops, watching what’s going down. He and Chenle exchange a look. 

“We’re not broken up?” Mark asks, surprised. 

“You shut your mouth.” Jaemin points to Mark. “I’m still mad at you.” 

Renjun and Donghyuck are laughing their asses off in the background. 

“Jeno, dude, what the fuck? We aren’t trading my boyfriend,” Jaemin says sternly, arms crossed. 

“Alright, you got a better idea?” 

“Well since you’re so trade-happy, how about we trade you?” Jaemin spits. 

“I’d be happy with that,” one of the pirates, Yangyang, pipes up. 

Ten and Sicheng both look ridiculously over this entire deal. 

Yukhei eyes Jeno up and down. “Yeah, okay.” 

Jeno, face red, turns and glares at Jaemin, who smiles cheekily. 

“Uh, no, no, no, I don’t think that’s the case,” Donghyuck hobbles over to them. 

He wraps his arms around Jeno’s shoulders. “You two better start looking somewhere else before I poke your eyes out with a fork, got it?” 

Yukhei raises his hands in surrender. “His idea, man.” 

“Great, so now we have nothing to trade.” Chenle glares at his friends. He wasn’t really expecting to get away with trading Mark, but it was at least something. 

Annoyed, Jisung walks forward. “What do you guys really need?” 

“We don’t really need anything,” Yukhei says, looking to his fellow pirates. 

“We’d like some fresh fruit, Yukhei is about to get scurvy, but that isn’t nearly enough to be worth this map,” Yangyang says cheerily. 

“Yang! You said you wouldn’t tell people that!” Yukhei’s cheeks flush, he’s embarrassed. Poor guy. Chenle gets it, he’s been there. 

“We do need some tools,” Ten pipes up. 

“Thank goodness, what do you need?” Jisung asks, relieved. 

“We need a 9/16 wrench,” Sicheng says. “That’s really it, we’ve been looking for one but nobody carries wrenches that small when you work with space ships.” 

Jisung’s face lights up with excitement, which Chenle finds incredibly adorable. 

“I have one of those!” he exclaims. “I’ll grab it for you.” 

With that, Jisung disappears into the spaceship. 

“Why didn’t you guys just say what you needed in the first place?” Chenle asks, tilting his head. 

“Oh.” Yukhei laughs. “You literally offered us a cute guy, then a hot guy, what were you expecting?” 

Mark and Jeno exchange a look. 

Chenle shrugs “Yeah that’s fair.” 

“Why am I the cute guy?” Mark asks, furrowing his brow. 

“Dude, you look like a baby lion, you couldn’t hurt a fly!” Yukhei laughs. 

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” Jeno mutters. 

“You didn’t offer the tall cutie though,” Ten remarks, winking at Chenle. 

Chenle’s cheeks burn. Of course Ten always knows everything. 

Chenle’s known these pirates since he was a kid. They took care of him after his parents died. But they also made sure to let Chenle know after he left to go be a delivery boy that if they came across his ship they would not hesitate to pirate it. Chenle just shrugged. 

And of course they did, or tried to, back in January when they ended up tasing Chenle. Which hurt like a bitch. 

“You know exactly the answer to that question, Ten, and I am not saying it,” Chenle huffs. 

“Here you go!” Jisung appears next to Chenle again, this time holding a wrench. He looks adorably excited, eyes sparkling. God, Chenle has the cutest boyfriend. 

“Thanks!” Sicheng says brightly, taking the wrench from Jisung. 

“Here,” Yukhei hands Chenle an old, yellow and brown scroll. 

“Thanks,” Chenle says, taking the scroll. 

“It was nice to see you guys again!” Chenle calls, dragging Jisung back to the ship. 

The rest follow, waving goodbye to the pirates. 

“Chenle, you dragged us out of there so quickly,” Jisung remarks as they board the ship. 

Chenle shrugs. “Those guys are snakes, once they realize how unfair a deal that was, they will not be happy.” 

As if on cue, there’s an explosion to the right of the ship, knocking the ship over on its side. 

“There it is!” Chenle yells, quickly pressing buttons to get the ship moving. They right themselves quickly, then speed off the asteroid, swerving through space to lose the pirates. 

Luckily, they do lose them, and off to float around in space again they go. 

“Okay, so we have the map,” Chenle says, spinning around in his chair. 

“Now what?” 

“Well, let’s look at it,” Jaemin says, nodding his head. 

Chenle takes care to untie the string around the map. Then, he slowly unravels it, the yellow paper crinkling as he flattens it.

“It’s,” his eyes widen in surprise, “in the center of the universe.”

* * *

Jisung really has no idea how the largest civilization in the universe managed to hide itself in the center of the universe. Nonetheless, there is one important thing he noticed.

Right now they’re in the western quadrant, approximately two lightyears from Jisung’s home planet, Vesnia. 

Jisung turns to his boyfriend, who’s deep in conversation with Jeno about space rats. Jisung knows what a rat is, he doesn’t even want to imagine what a space rat is. 

“Um, hey, Lele?” Jisung asks timidly. Immediately Chenle turns, pausing mid-sentence. 

“You can finish your sentence, you know,” Jisung says, cheeks flushing. Chenle always drops everything for him, he feels kinda bad. 

Chenle turns back to Jeno, finishing what he was saying. Jeno, amused, nods to Chenle’s statement about the intelligence of space rats, then excuses himself, likely to go bother Donghyuck or Renjun. 

“What’s up, baby?” Chenle says, turning around. He pats the bench next to him. 

Jisung doesn’t know why he’s so nervous to ask Chenle this, he’s almost positive he’ll say yes, but maybe he’s just too scared he’ll say no. 

Jisung takes a seat. 

“Well,” he starts, sucking in a breath, “we’re really close to Vesnia, and I was wondering if—” 

“Yes, we can go to Vesnia,” Chenle says, smiling. 

“Yes!” Jisung pumps his fist. He’s so excited to go back home and see all of his droids again. 

Chenle reaches up, patting his cheek. 

“You are too cute, Jisungie,” Chenle says.

Jisung falters, cheeks turning pink. 

Chenle pulls him down for a quick kiss. 

“Let’s let the others know,” Chenle says, standing. 

“You go prep the ship, we’ll head there for the morning.” 

Jisung cheers, walking over and taking his seat in the copilot’s chair. 

A few seconds later, the rest of them clamber into the cockpit, taking their seats along the benches. 

“Ji,” Chenle glances at Jisung, “want me to crash into your roof just like old time’s sake?” 

“Don’t you fucking dare.” 

Chenle laughs loudly. 

“Alright, fuckers!” Chenle shouts, buckling himself in. 

“Let’s get this show on the road!” 

* * * 

Jisung cautiously steps out of the ship. 

Chenle had voiced his concerns about the Välde being present, but Mark assured them that they wouldn’t have stayed long, what with Jisung’s town being so small. 

That being said, Chenle still makes sure Jisung has his luxtro with him when he leaves his ship. Even if the town looked abandoned as they flew in. 

Jisung walks down the ramp, ignoring the tears that form in his eyes as he looks around at his old shop. 

Despite Chenle’s threats, he did not, in fact, crash into Jisung’s roof. 

Jisung looks around the old shop. His droids are all on the other side of the white line in the garage, just where he left them. The roof is still destroyed from Chenle’s last visit. He races over to the room off the garage, his workshop, grabbing his primary toolbox, which he left behind since he was in the middle of cleaning it. 

He places it at the base of the ship. 

He goes back to the droids, switching on his favorite . 

“Hey, buddy,” he says, patting the droid's head. The droid beeps, looking up at him. It begins to drive in circles. 

Laughing at his droid, he heads back over to the kitchen, on the other side of the garage. It looks the same, with dirty dishes piled in the sink, an old, cracked photo over the sink, and a moor rat sleeping under the cupboard. 

He heads to the upstairs unit, slipping into his old bedroom.

His pictures are all the same. There’s the pile of Earth magazines and books in the corner, and a small light fixture hanging from the ceiling. 

Jisung has really missed this place, but he doesn’t miss it as much as he expected. He supposes that has something to do with all that went down with his parents, considering it is their shop. 

It’s still home sweet home. 

  
And Jisung is glad to be back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry this is a day late! i've been incredibly busy lately. hope you enjoy!


	20. These are the droids you're looking for, but ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaemin is mostly asleep when he hears movement from outside the ship.

Jaemin is mostly asleep when he hears movement from outside the ship. 

They’re staying on Jisung’s planet for the night. They spent the day with Jisung, who cutely introduced them to all of his droids, showed them around town and his shop. Jisung even took the time to show them all his old Earth magazines and books. He was very excited, it was super cute. 

Jisung and Chenle are staying in Jisung’s room, while the rest of them are staying in the ship. Despite Chenle’s worrying, Jisung managed to somehow convince the older boy to let them stay in Jisung’s old home. 

Jaemin is out in the cockpit, resting in the pilot’s chair where he’s been sleeping since Mark came back. His heart breaks whenever he thinks about it. He wants to stay in the same room as him, and be held by him, but he doesn’t trust him anymore. He’s still mad. 

He’s about to doze off when he hears hushed voices from outside. They left the ship open. 

He can’t make out what they're saying, but he shoots up. He checks the ship’s cameras. Two figures flanked by Välde guards head towards the kitchen and upstairs unit. 

He squints at the small screen. 

The two figures are the same two that Chenle shot and stunned when they were leaving the Välde capitol the other day.

Jaemin gulps. They’re Jisung’s parents. 

His first instinct is to run, scream, and wake everyone up, but then he pauses. 

He’s the only one awake. He has to go about this correctly or Jisung could get taken away from them again. That would destroy Chenle, and Jaemin doesn’t even want to think about what Jisung would go through. His parents are dangerous. 

They don’t actually love him, Jaemin knows that for a fact. It’s a facade that he can easily see through. They want to use him, raise him to take their places as the military leaders of the Välde. Jaemin doesn’t want to think of what happens on that journey. 

He can’t sit here and do nothing, but he can’t let them leave. If he causes a ruckus they’ll catch him. Jaemin is extremely wanted by various people due to his brain and species—he’s the last of his kind. And he knows this, so he has to be careful. It would be five on one, and Jaemin knows he would lose. 

He angles the camera upwards and zooms out. They had to have flown in on a ship. 

The camera goes dark. Jaemin freezes. His breathing is shallow as he strains to listen. Carefully, he moves ever so slightly closer to the door, standing up from his chair. 

He hears someone walk away. 

Jaemin lets out a breath. But he needs to move fast, they’re going to grab Jisung and try to leave immediately. He grabs his blaster. 

He couldn’t spot the ship, but if he remembers the town’s layout there’s one large open space where a ship could land. Carefully, Jaemin sneaks out of the ship, just as Jisung’s parents head inside. 

The guards are still looking around, so he waits. The second all three guards are looking in one direction, away from him, Jaemin books it. He races around the side of the building, underneath the upstairs unit. He hears a muffled yell from inside. 

He needs to move. He sprints to the closest building and creeps around it. He runs to the next building, doing the same. Then he sees it. 

The large Välde ship. 

Jaemin gulps. It’s double the size of Chenle’s ship. And Jaemin has to take it out. 

He peers around the corner. He doesn’t see Jisung’s parents yet. 

He needs to be fast. He focuses on the left side, as that’s closer. He raises his blaster and shoots at the ship’s blasters. 

It doesn’t work. 

Fuck. 

Jaemin is quick to come up with a new plan. He has to steal all of their fuel. He sprints over to the ship. The door is unlocked. Thank god. 

He slips inside the ship, which is seemingly empty. He crouches, pressing his hand to the floor and feeling for any vibrations in the metal. 

There are none, it’s empty. 

Jaemin lets out a breath. He races to the back of the ship, opening up the fuel tanks. 

He could light the ship on fire, but there’s a very high chance of him dying. 

He checks his pockets. He has a matchbox he always keeps on his person in case of scenarios like this. 

He could blow up the ship. Shit. They’re going to know he was here regardless, but if they can’t leave it doesn’t matter. Just like Chenle’s plan, trap them here. 

Jaemin looks around, searching for some sort of string or anything. He finds nothing. 

He’s gonna have to throw it and run, and he very well might die. 

He takes a deep breath, opening up the fuel tank. He walks as far away as he can. 

He lights the match, lines up his aim, throws, and runs. 

Almost immediately the back of the ship explodes with a loud  _ BOOM! _ Jaemin is blown forward by the blast. He lands on the hard metal floor of the ship, five feet from the door. He only has a few seconds before the fire reaches the other tanks. His body aches from the impact but he ignores it. He pushes himself up, exiting the ship. 

The second he drops onto the ground the rest of the tanks explode, lighting the rest of the ship on fire. Jaemin is thrown through the air again. His back hits the side of the nearest building and he crumples to the ground. 

The pain is immense. He doesn’t think he can stand. For someone so smart that was definitely the stupidest thing he’s ever done. 

But it was necessary. 

The last thing he hears before he passes out is a conglomerate of shouts. The ugly red mask of a guard appears in front of him, and Jaemin’s entire world goes black. 

* * *

When Chenle wakes up his head hurts. He feels woozy, the same way he felt when he was drugged by a different pirate gang a couple months ago. He blinks awake. He tries pushing himself up only to topple over on the floor. 

Ow. 

He tries again, this time using the wall for support. His head hurts. 

He looks around. 

Jisung is gone. 

It’s as if cold water washes over him. He wakes up fully in a second. He stumbles downstairs, hurrying over to the ship. 

He steps onto the floor of the garage only to run directly into Jeno, who looks panicked. 

“Jisung is missing,” Chenle says, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it more. 

“And I think I was drugged.” His words are slightly slurred. 

He begins to sway, but Jeno grabs his upper arms, holding him still. 

“Chenle, you wait here,” Jeno says, pushing him down to sit on the steps. Chenle does as he says. His head hurts. 

He closes his eyes to rest them. 

A couple minutes later, someone is pressing a glass into his hands. 

“Drink this, it’ll flush the drug out of your system,” someone says. 

Chenle takes it, shakily bringing it up to his lips. He takes a few sips. A couple minutes later, the world clears up. His head stops hurting. 

“Jisung!” Chenle says, jumping up. Fuck!

“They took him, Jisung is missing.” 

“Jaemin is, too,” Jeno says. Donghyuck and Mark both exit the ship, running down to them.

  
  


“We need to go, now.” 

Chenle runs into the streets of the small town. Then he sees the billowing smoke. 

He sprints. 

He runs until he rounds a building. Immediately, lasers and bullets are fired at him. He yelps, then goes back around the building.

Jisung’s parents stand in the middle of the field, Jisung kneeling on the ground in behind them, hands behind his back. Three Välde soldiers stand around them. 

“Chenle,” Jeno says, “Mark and I will handle the Välde soldiers, you get to Jisung.” 

“I’ll duel his father,” Donghyuck suggests nonchalantly. 

Chenle turns to look at him, eyes wide, “seriously?” 

“That asshole is the reason Jeno can barely walk, and he was a dick to Jisung.” Donghyuck crosses his arms. 

“Mark, does his mom fight?” Jeno asks. 

Mark’s face darkens. “She’s like a ninja, it’s like getting between a bear and its cub.” 

“Well we’re taking the cub away from the bear, this should go great!” Donghyuck drawls sarcastically. 

“I’ll stay back here, I’m not a fighter,” Renjun says. 

Jeno walks over to the edge of the wall. He takes his blaster and points it around the corner, firing once. Immediately, a barrage of shots fly towards him, and Jeno darts back around the wall, clutching his shoulder. 

“Holy fuck, there’s more.” 

“What?” 

“I don’t know! There are more than before!” Jeno says, voice growing hysterical. Renjun reaches forward, cupping his face. 

“Lee Jeno, relax.” He presses a hand to his forehead. Jeno’s shoulders slump and the tension leaves his body. 

“What the fuck was that?” Jeno asks, staring at Renjun in wonder. 

“Long story, it goes with the wings.” Renjun shrugs. 

“Guys, please, I don’t know how much longer we have until another ship arrives and they leave, we need to go.” 

“I know, Chenle, but how?” 

“I don’t know!” Chenle shouts in frustration. “I’m not the one with the brains! Jaemin is! And we have no idea where he is.” 

“You know what? Fuck it.” Donghyuck turns on his luxtro, the long blade shooting out from the hilt. 

He walks forward, spinning the weapon, capturing lasers and absorbing bullets. 

Chenle watches in awe before moving to follow, crouching behind the cover of Donghyuck’s weapon. Jeno and Mark head around the corner as well, crouching and beginning to fire. Donghyuck stops in front of Jisung’s father, raising his weapon to him. 

Mr. Park immediately draws his own luxtro, a large wide sword. Donghyuck gulps, adjusting his stance and grounding himself. 

With the guards distracted, Chenle sprints over to Jisung, who looks up at him with wide eyes, cloth in his mouth. 

“Hey, Jiji,” Chenle greets, kneeling in front of him. He reaches up, untying the cloth. 

“Turn around!” Jisung says urgently. Chenle whips around, drawing his luxtro knife. He turns just in time to intercept Jisung’s mother’s blade. 

She has a katana luxtro, and wields it dexterously. Chenle barely catches the first swing, pushing it to the side. 

He’s at a serious disadvantage—he’s both on the ground and protecting Jisung. He looks around frantically, for anything to help him. He doesn’t find anything useful, but he does see Jaemin slumped, unconscious, against the wall of the building to his right. To his left are the remains of a ship. 

She strikes again. Chenle catches it with his blade, pushing up as he tries to stand. Just as he gains solid footing she swipes out with her leg, knocking Chenle off his feet and onto the ground. 

She swings over and over. Each time it gets closer to landing a blow, Chenle barely deflects each one off his knife. God, what he’d give for a longer blade. 

He catches the sword mere inches from his neck, holding his knife to the side. She has better leverage, and he can feel the heat getting closer. Desperate, he reaches out with his leg, kicking at her ankles. She falters, and Chenle takes the brief second to right himself. 

He puts his weight on his hands, kicking up into a handstand from his feet and flipping backwards. From there, he drops down normally and stands. In kicking up into his handstand, he manages to land a blow to her face. 

She stumbles backwards, clutching her nose. Chenle quickly slashes through the ropes holding Jisung’s wrists together. 

“Thanks,” Jisung says, standing and drawing his own sword. 

Before Chenle can make a move, Jisung’s mother turns towards Jisung, who has his sword raised and stance prepared. 

She raises her hands in surrender, dropping her sword. 

“Stun me,” she whispers. “And please take care of him.” 

Chenle does as she asks, trying his best to mask his surprise. He takes his blaster from his belt and shoots her with ease. Jisung’s eyes are wide with shock. 

He puts his blaster back on his belt. Jisung immediately pulls him into a hug, holding him tight. 

A shout breaks them apart. Chenle turns to see Donghyuck in the middle of dueling Jisung’s father. 

Chenle pauses. Donghyuck is holding his own pretty well. Currently, their swords are clashing in the middle. It looks like Donghyuck has the upper hand. 

Then Jisung’s father brings his sword down along the blades, moving it straight towards Donghyuck’s wrist. Donghyuck moves his hand back just in time. His wrist is only grazed. 

The alternative is much worse. 

Donghyuck lowers his weapon, gripping his bleeding wound. He’s forced to raise it again when Jisung’s father strikes his weapon down again.

“I can’t watch,” Jisung mutters next to him. 

Chenle wants to blast him but this is Donghyuck’s fight, so he waits. 

Donghyuck jabs this time, which proved to be a mistake, as it allows Jisung’s father to strike him in the shoulder. 

Chenle meets Donghyuck’s eyes. They’re pleading. 

In a heartbeat, Chenle removes his blaster from his belt and shoots. Jisung’s father drops to the ground like a bag of dirt. Which he is. 

Most of the guards around them seem to be taken out too, and Chenle finally allows himself to relax. 

Until he sees a third guard shoot directly at Jeno, straight towards his heart. Jeno, who’s more focused on a guard near Jaemin, doesn’t notice. 

“JENO!” Chenle screams. 

Jeno doesn’t move in time, but Mark does. Mark leaps at Jeno, shoving him out of the way. The bullet hits Mark in the shoulder. He collapses. 

“Mark!” Jeno shouts. Chenle quickly turns with his blaster, stunning the remaining guards before they can turn on the duo yet again. 

It’s over. They won. 


	21. The Center of Their Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Jisung, I think I know how your parents found us,” Renjun says. 
> 
> They’re still at Jisung’s place. They agreed to rest for a while before flying off to the Yangzhu. They have plenty of time before the invasion. Renjun is examining Jisung’s droids when he speaks. 
> 
> Jisung walks over to where Renjun is sitting. He takes a seat next to him. 
> 
> “Look.” Renjun points to a small divot in the center of the robot. 
> 
> “It’s a camera.”

Jisung feels like crying. Half his friends are on the ground, unconscious or bleeding. He just got kidnapped by his own parents. His mom tried to stab him and his boyfriend. All he wanted to do was come home and say hi to all his droids again. 

He jogs over to Donghyuck first, who still hasn’t gotten off the ground. There’s a gash on his wrist and on his shoulder. Donghyuck’s eyes are open and he’s breathing heavily. Jisung reaches out a hand, helping him up. 

Donghyuck stands easily, holding his shoulder. 

Jisung looks around. Chenle is kneeling by Jaemin, trying to shake him awake. 

“Mark,” Donghyuck says. He jogs over to where Mark lies unmoving. Renjun and Jeno hover over him. 

Jisung reaches Mark shortly after Donghyuck. Mark is barely awake. He seems to be slipping in and out of consciousness. 

“Mark, you fucking dumbass,” Jeno says. He’s gripping Mark’s hand in his own. 

“Jaemin is gonna kick your ass,” Renjun mutters. He’s kneeling by Mark’s head and shoulder, a water bottle in hand. Mark laughs weakly. 

Jisung doesn’t know how he’s conscious. Being shot really hurts. 

Renjun presses a button on the side of his glasses. Three more frames pop out, each smaller than the next. A series of magnifying glasses. 

“Jeno, pass me my kit,” Renjun says. Jeno unlocks and hands over a small first aid kid. It expands upon opening, unfolding to have a two-tiered station with tools and such. 

“How did you do that?” Donghyuck asks, eyes wide. 

Renjun shrugs, smirking. “Cealeons do have their fair share of magic.” 

“You amaze me.” 

“Okay, I need space,” Renjun announces, just as Chenle and Jaemin meander over. Jaemin’s face is screwed up in pain, but his eyes widen when he sees Mark on the ground. 

“Shit,” Renjun says. 

“Mark?” Jaemin asks. 

“No, you leave now. Chenle, get him out of here,” Renjun orders. He slips gloves onto his hands, snapping the gloves at his wrist. 

“What happened?” Jaemin asks, ignoring Renjun. 

“He took a bullet for me, the fucking idiot,” Jeno grumbles. 

Jaemin moves to sit but Renjun shoos him away.

“Jaemin, you know my policy, no boyfriends.” Renjun grabs a needle from his kit, poking it near the wound. 

“Goodnight, Mark,” Renjun says. 

“And goodbye, Jaemin.” Chenle takes a dazed Jaemin by the shoulders, dragging him away. 

Jaemin is staring in shock, tears in his eyes. 

“Come on, Jaem, he’ll be okay,” Chenle says gently, leading him away. 

“He’ll be just fine.”

* * *

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Jeno asks. 

They’re back at Jisung’s garage. They dumped Jisung’s parents and the guards in the town’s jail, stripping them of their weapons and locking them up. 

Mark is conscious, his shoulder bandaged and bullet-free. 

“You would’ve died, Jeno,” Mark answers calmly. 

Jeno scoffs. “So?” 

“Hold up, the fuck you mean ‘so’?” Donghyuck interrupts, glaring at Jeno. 

“He took a bullet for me!” Jeno throws his arm out, exasperated. 

“Yeah! I did, and I’d do it again if I had to,” Mark snaps. 

Jeno falters at that. “You would?” 

“Yes, Jeno.” Mark takes a deep breath. “I would take a bullet for you, for any of you.” 

“I made a mistake, a colossal mistake. I care about all of you like brothers—except you, Jaem.” He nods towards Jaemin. “I’ve changed so much from when I first made my deal, and I should’ve gone back on it in the first place.” 

“I’m sorry, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. I know I won’t win your trust back again, but I just ask for forgiveness, I just—” 

Mark is cut off by Jeno grabbing his uninjured arm and pulling him into a hug. 

“You took a fucking bullet for me, of course I forgive you.” 

Jisung is shocked to watch as Mark’s shoulders begin to shake, as he grips onto Jeno. 

“Markie,” Jaemin says softly, from the other side of Mark. Mark slowly lets go of Jeno, turning to face Jaemin. 

“I’m sorry, Jaem, I really am. I love you.” 

Jaemin cups Mark’s face. He leans in, briefly pressing his lips to Mark’s. 

“I forgive you,” Jaemin says, smiling softly. Mark positively glows with happiness. Mark leans forward again, this time to embrace Jaemin, who holds him happily. 

Jisung is starting to believe they can trust him again. 

Jisung slips his hand into Chenle’s and squeezes. Chenle turns, smiling at him. He leans over and rests his head on Jisung’s shoulder. 

Jisung takes a moment to cherish this, cherish the peace and love he has with all of his friends. He isn’t sure what’s going to happen at the invasion. He isn’t sure if they’ll all survive. 

But right there, right now, Jisung has all of his friends, all together again. 

Jisung is at peace. 

* * *

“Jisung, I think I know how your parents found us,” Renjun says. 

They’re still at Jisung’s place. They agreed to rest for a while before flying off to the Yangzhu. They have plenty of time before the invasion. Renjun is examining Jisung’s droids when he speaks. 

Jisung walks over to where Renjun is sitting. He takes a seat next to him. 

“Look.” Renjun points to a small divot in the center of the robot. 

“It’s a camera.” 

“What?” Jisung stares where Renjun is pointing. There is in fact a tiny camera, right in the center of his favorite droid. 

He’s shocked. Have his parents been watching him this entire time? Since he was a child? 

He was the one who insisted they return to his home. He’s the reason his parents found them. 

He’s the reason Mark got shot and Donghyuck has two sword wounds. 

“I’m sorry,” he blurts. 

Chenle, who’s playing with another droid nearby, walks over. 

“Jisung what are you sorry for?” he asks, taking a seat next to Jisung and Renjun. 

“I endangered everyone by coming here, and it’s my fault they were even trying to catch me in the first place.” 

“Jisung what are you talking about?” Chenle stares at him bewildered.

“It’s all my fault! Mark getting shot, Jaemin and Donghyuck getting hurt, that’s all on me.” Jisung stands. 

Chenle follows suit. “Nobody blames you, Sungie, not one bit.” 

“But it’s _ my _ fault,” Jisung insists.

“I don’t blame you,” Jaemin says, appearing next to Jisung. 

Jisung jumps, turning. 

“Jaemin,” he says, shoulders slumping. 

“You can’t control the fact that your parents are crazy people chasing after you, so therefore, logically, it’s not your fault. Yes, we came here, yes, we were attacked, yes, I blew up a spaceship, but they would’ve caught up to us eventually, wouldn’t they? It’s probably for the best that they caught us when they did, because it’s better here than in space.” 

Jisung sighs. Jaemin does make a good point. 

“Fine,” he concedes. 

Jaemin smiles and opens his arms. Jisung steps into them, allowing himself to be held. Jaemin hugs differently than Chenle. But it’s nice all the same. 

“Wait,” Chenle interrupts. Jisung pulls away. “Did you say you blew up a spaceship?” 

“Oh right, let’s sit,” Jaemin says. Renjun calls over his two boyfriends and Mark comes over to join them. Mark takes a seat next to Jaemin, tentatively sitting close. 

“Markie, you can sit close to me,” Jaemin says, smiling. Mark blushes, then moves closer. 

Jaemin slips his hand into Mark’s. 

“So I was awake when Jisung’s parents appeared,” Jaemin begins, gesturing with a hand. 

“But I knew if I confronted them that I would get my ass kicked, so instead I snuck around town and over to their ship.” 

Jisung watches Jaemin intently, hanging on his every word. 

“I tried taking out their ship with my blaster, but it was useless. I snuck on the ship instead, with the intent to mess with the fuel when I realized I could blow it up.” 

“Wait wait wait,” Chenle interrupts, “you blew up a ship while you were still on it?” Chenle asks, mouth agape. 

Jaemin rubs the back of his neck, sheepish. 

“It was pretty stupid, I know, but I had to. If the ship was intact they would’ve left with Jisung.”

Jisung stares at the ground. 

“You could’ve died,” Mark mumbles. 

Jaemin shrugs, “I did what I had to. I was the only one awake, it was the best bet.” 

“You didn’t have to almost die for me,” Jisung argues, looking back up at Jaemin. 

Jaemin shakes his head. “You dummy. I didn’t almost die for just you, we all would have suffered if they succeeded in taking you away.” 

Jisung’s eyes well up with tears “What?” he asks. 

Jaemin smiles softly. “We care about you far too much, Jisung, you’re like a little brother to all of us. It was devastating when we lost you the first time.” 

Jisung doesn’t say anything. Instead, to avoid crying he turns and buries his face in the crook of Chenle’s neck. 

“Aww, Jisungie,” Chenle coos, reaching up to pat his hair. 

“We’ll always protect you,” Jaemin says. 

“You’re like the center of our universe.”


	22. 127 Squad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeno snaps his fingers loudly. “I’ve got it,” he says. 
> 
> They’re on the way to the center of the universe, to meet up with the Yangzhu king and talk about battle plans. 
> 
> "We should alert the rest of the resistance, or 127 as they called themselves.”

They wait a week before travelling again, giving Mark time to heal. Renjun ends up using some strange Cealeon magic to heal him quicker. Chenle, offended, asks why Renjun didn’t use it on Jisung the first time. Renjun’s answer is simply that it’s risky, and he didn’t want to chance it when Jisung had time to heal. 

Mark does not have that luxury, nor does he have painkillers like Jisung did. 

So Renjun, after consulting Jaemin, the brain of most operations, takes that risk. 

They’re back on the ship now, Chenle is flying and Jisung is dealing with all of his copilot things. Which include: insulting Donghyuck, pressing buttons, and looking out for oncoming asteroids. 

It’s quite simple. 

Jeno snaps his fingers loudly. “I’ve got it,” he says. 

They’re on the way to the center of the universe, to meet up with the Yangzhu king and talk about battle plans. 

“We should alert the rest of the resistance, or 127 as they called themselves.” 

“Good plan,” Mark says, nodding. 

Donghyuck snaps his fingers as well, only mocking Jeno a little bit. “We should come up with a cool name for ourselves, we kinda have a little group now.” 

“How about …” Jaemin trails off. 

“Dream,” Mark says. 

“Dream? Why?” Jaemin asks, tilting his head. 

Mark shrugs. “We give people back their dreams? I’m not sure, it sounds really cool.” 

“We give people their dreams back, huh,” Chenle mumbles. 

“I like that, it’s like giving people hope.” Chenle turns in his chair. He’s looking at the ground, smiling softly. 

“I mean, you are the Defender,” Donghyuck says, grinning.

“I still can’t believe people called me that,” Chenle laughs brightly. 

“Oh, oh!” Jaemin says, “we also—wait for it.” He holds up his hands. “Dream of a better future!” He exclaims. 

“Genius, Jaem,” Mark says, smiling. 

“Woah,” Donghyuck says, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mark smile,” he teases. 

“Ever so serious, hm,” Jaemin says, smiling his catlike smile. He leans over, pressing a kiss to Mark’s cheek. 

Mark looks so happy. It makes Jisung happy to see. 

“So, anyone know where we can find the rest of 127?”

* * *

They head to Nadria first, given that it’s one of the two leads they have. 

The city has since been freed from the Välde, meaning Doyoung completed the job after Dream left so suddenly. 

This time, Jeno pushes open the door to Doyoung’s house. 

Like last time, Doyoung sits reading a book. 

But there’s another figure in the kitchen, and another one at the kitchen table, blabbing to Doyoung, who’s nodding noncommittally. 

“Doie, are you even listening?” The guy talking to him pouts. 

Doyoung nods. “Of course I am, Woo.” 

“You are not! You totally aren’t, you—” 

‘Woo’ stops talking, cutting himself off as he turns and sees the seven boys standing in the doorway. 

“Babe, there are seven weird kids standing outside your door,” The other man in the kitchen calls. Finally, Doyoung looks up from his book. He nearly drops it. 

“You three are dating?” Jeno asks, shocked. 

“Oh, hi, Jen!” ‘Woo’ says, smiling brightly. He has a blinding smile. 

“Literally how did you not notice?” The other man, who has stark white, long hair, laughs. 

Jeno shrugs. “I just never did.” 

Doyoung shakes his head, smiling. “To the rest of you, this is Yuta,” he gestures towards the man with white hair. He waves, taking a bite of an apple, “and this is Jungwoo.” Jungwoo waves as well, smiling brightly. Jungwoo has short black hair and pierced ears. 

“And yes, Jeno, we’re dating, we have been for a while.” Doyoung stands, putting his book down. 

“Oh,” Jeno says, looking slightly dumbfounded. 

“Yuta!” Mark exclaims, scooting through the rest of Dream to run into the room and give the white-haired man a large hug. 

“Mark!” Yuta exclaims, a bright smile coming across his face. 

Jisung has figured out what Doyoung and his boyfriends all have in common. They have some of the biggest smiles Jisung has ever seen. 

Jungwoo gasps loudly, standing. “Chenle!!” 

Chenle, who’s standing shyly by the door, grins sheepishly. Jungwoo walks over, pulling Chenle into a very warm hug. Chenle hums happily. 

“Hi, Jungwoo,” Chenle says, closing his eyes and resting his head on Jungwoo’s chest. 

Jisung feels a pang of something weird, he can’t quite place it. When Chenle comes back to stand next to him, Jisung holds his hand a little bit tighter than usual. 

“Holy shit, Mark, were you shot?” Yuta yells, inspecting Mark’s shoulder. His bandages are poking out from under his sleeve, which Yuta has now moved to look further. 

“Uh, maybe?” 

Yuta glares at him. “I can’t believe you were shot! Don’t you kids know how to be careful?” 

Jisung snorts. 

“What even happened?” Yuta asks, releasing Mark’s sleeve. 

“Well, Jeno was about to get shot in the chest and—” 

“You did not, you jumped in front of a bullet?” Jungwoo asks, shocked. 

“Maybe?” 

“Yeah, the dumbass did,” Jaemin speaks up, glaring at his boyfriend, who smiles sheepishly. 

“Why were you even in a situation to get shot in the first place?” 

Suddenly, Jisung feels lots of eyes on him. His cheeks burn as he grips Chenle’s hand tighter. 

“Oh, you’re the boy they’re after,” Yuta says, putting the pieces together.

“Don’t put it like that,” Chenle snaps. 

“Yes, we had a run in with the Parks. But it isn’t Jisung’s fault Mark got hurt.” 

“Are you two dating?” Yuta asks, pointing at Jisung and Chenle. 

“Yes, yes we are,” Chenle replies, lifting their intertwined hands to show. 

Jisung has a hunch Yuta and Chenle never really got along. 

“Finally! I knew you had a crush on him!” Jungwoo exclaims. 

Chenle looks at Jungwoo, surprised. 

“Lele, you’d come back after getting your ship repaired separately from the rest of us and then talk about the cute repair boy for a week and a half. You were really obvious, the only person who didn’t pick up on it was Jeno,” Jungwoo says brightly. 

“Hey!” Jeno says, affronted. 

“It’s okay, babe, we love you even if you’re incredibly dense,” Donghyuck says, leaning over and kissing Jeno on the cheek. 

Jeno just frowns. 

“Why are you guys here, by the way?” Doyoung finally asks. 

“Oh right, I forgot about that,” Chenle says. Jisung facepalms, laughing. 

“We need your help defeating the Välde. They’re going to invade Yangzhu on the twenty-third.” 

Doyoung’s eyes widen in shock. 

“No way, that soon?” 

Chenle nods, gulping. 

“How did you find out?” 

“Mark was a double agent,” Jaemin says, before anyone else can speak. 

“He got the dates for us from Jisung’s father.” 

“Wow, way to go Mark,” Yuta says, impressed. 

“Jaemin’s lying,” Mark says, sighing. “Jaem, thank you, but I need to tell them the truth.” 

“I betrayed them at first, that’s how I know. I was a double agent for years because my parents were part of the empire.” 

Yuta, Doyoung, and Jungwoo stare at him in shock. 

“But he’s changed, he took a bullet for Jeno, risked his life to protect Jisung, and helped us break Donghyuck and Jeno out of prison,” Chenle says. 

“Wow, that’s a lot to take in, Mark—” Doyoung says. 

“But that’s unimportant,” Chenle interrupts, “will you accompany us to Yangzhu?” 

Doyoung looks to each of his boyfriends. 

Jungwoo nods, while Yuta gives them a thumbs up. 

“Yes, yes we will.” 

* * *

They head to Playria, the moon where Taeyong lives. The very same moon that they failed to properly depart from. 

They gave the coordinates of Yangzhu to Doyoung and his boyfriends, who said they’d meet them there. 

And off to Playria it is. 

This time Chenle takes care to land very far from the water’s edge. They really don’t need another run in with that giant sea monster. 

The walk to the tents is nice. Everyone is laughing and joking around. Jisung is happy. 

They reach the last tent. Donghyuck pokes his head in first, then yells happily. 

“Johnny!” Donghyuck runs into the tent. 

Jisung pokes his head in, and what he sees surprises him. There are three men cuddled up on a small couch in the corner of the tent. 

“Donghyuck!” One of the men scooches out from under the other two. Jisung recognizes one as Taeyong. The other has red hair that looks like it’s actually fire. He also has pointy ears and his eyes look to be a brownish red. 

“Hey, kids,” Taeyong says, standing up. A very tall man engulfs Donghyuck in a big hug. He’s guessing this is Johnny. 

The fire man stands as well. He’s considerably shorter than Taeyong, and if Jisung were to guess he’d say he’s shorter than Renjun. 

“This is Johnny, and Taeil.” He motions to the tall and short men respectively. 

“Johnny!” Mark exclaims. Johnny lets go of Donghyuck to turn and bring Mark into an even larger hug. 

“Markie!!” Johnny has a bright smile on his face. 

“Chenle?” 

Chenle peeks around Jisung’s shoulder. “Taeil! Taeil, oh, my god!” 

Chenle runs around from Jisung, grabbing Taeil and pulling him into a hug. 

“Taeil is Berevian!!” Chenle exclaims, letting go of Taeil to hold his hand up instead. 

“Berevians are fire elves? Chenle, you look nothing like that,” Jeno says, surprised. 

Chenle makes a neutral face, pointing up to his hair. 

“Oh, so that wasn’t dye,” Jisung says dumbly. He can’t believe he didn’t know. 

“No, silly,” Chenle says brightly. He boops Jisung on the nose. 

“Can you do any other fire elf shit?” Donghyuck asks. He’s climbed on Johnny’s back since Jisung last looked over at him. 

“Uh, kinda?” Chenle says, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Can we see?” Jisung asks, curious. He didn’t know Chenle could do this stuff. 

Taeil places a hand on Chenle’s back. “Don’t worry, I’m here if something goes wrong.” 

Chenle takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes, holding out his hand. With a loud  _ pop! _ a small flame appears in his hand, dancing around his palm. 

Chenle opens one eye, peeking at it. When he sees the small flame, he breaks into a wide smile. 

“Woah,” Jisung whispers. Just when he thought his boyfriend couldn’t get any cooler. 

“You’re amazing,” Jisung says. Chenle smiles at him. His adorable, beautiful, blinding smile. 

The fire disappears from Chenle’s palm shortly after. 

“I don’t have very much control over it, and usually it freaks people out so I don’t do it often. Taeil taught me how to do it in the first place.” 

“That’s so cool, Lele,” Jisung says. 

Chenle smiles brightly. “Thanks, cutie.” He leans over and pecks Jisung’s cheek. Jisung’s face burns. They’re surrounded by people. But somehow he doesn’t care so much, it is Chenle after all.

“Chenle, that was sick!” Donghyuck drops down from Johnny’s back, walking over and clapping Chenle on the shoulder. 

“Yeah, that was cool,” Mark says. 

“But back to the task at hand.” 

“Yes!” Chenle asserts. “We’re going to Yangzhu to prepare for war, come with us?” 

Taeyong looks at them, surprised. 

“Long story how we got the date but the invasion’s soon and we’re collecting the resistance and you also wouldn’t happen to know where Jaehyun is, would you?”

Taeyong looks more surprised. 

“I do know where Jaehyun is. It’s a bit of a difficult journey, though, I’m not sure I can send you kids on it and sleep at night.” 

“Mark, were you shot?” Johnny exclaims.

“Here we go again,” Chenle mutters.

“Yes, he was. So were Chenle and Jisung, that’s not important,” Renjun interrupts. 

“Will you guys go to Yangzhu with us? Or meet us there? It doesn’t matter which.” 

Taeyong shrugs. “Sure, I figure this is our last big chance to stop it, so …” 

Their last big chance, huh. 

That’s scary to think about. 

“Jaehyun is on Echincia.” 

“Wait …” Jisung says. He’s heard that name before. 

“That’s where the nonnolo’s from, they have huge jungles with all sorts of creatures there. But I thought they were overrun by the Välde?” Jaemin says, confused. 

“They were, but Jaehyun said the nonnolos and the gupins scared them off.” 

Jaemin pales. “That’s far too dangerous, we can’t go.”

Chenle frowns. “Why not? The Välde aren’t there, and we need all of the resistance.” 

“If they were scared off, it means that the fence around the village broke. Which means there isn’t a single living soul left in the one town on Echincia.” 

Jisung’s eyes widen in shock, and as he looks around everyone else looks surprised too. 

“Wait, but Jaemin, I thought you were already the last of your kind?” 

Jaemin nods, “I am. I was born in Epocia, but was sent to Echincia, our neighbor planet, after the Välde wiped out our people. After I grew up in Echincia, I moved to Tantular, where you found me,” he explains. 

“We’ll have to send Jaehyun a message. If he gets it then that’s great, if not then we’ll proceed without him.” 

Jisung can tell Chenle wants to argue, but as per usual, Jaemin generally knows what’s best. So he doesn’t say anything. 

“Fine,” Chenle huffs. 

As if on cue, the flap of the tent opens, and someone peers in. 

“Am I interrupting anything?” A deep voice asks. Jisung turns to see a tall man with a dimpled smile and curly horns coming from his temples. 

“Jaehyun? What are you doing here?” Taeyong asks, shocked. 

“Jaehyun!” Jaemin says excitedly. “I thought you were killed by nonnolos.” 

“Jaemin! So good to see you again.” Jaehyun enters the tent, giving Jaemin a big hug. 

“I was not killed by nonnolos, I got out just in time. Yuta sent me a message saying what was going on, so I figured it’d be best to come here.”

“Hell yeah! We got the gang back together!” Chenle exclaims, pumping a fist. 

“Now let’s head to Yangzhu and kick some serious Välde ass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry this is a day late!!


	23. The Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’re three days out from the battle and Jisung is training. He’s gotten his ass handed to him by Yerim, Donghyuck, Jaehyun, Chenle, Mark, Sooyoung, Doyoung, Yuta, and Seulgi more times than he can fucking count. 
> 
> His entire body aches from training, but he’s getting better for sure. He’s gotten significantly more comfortable with his sword. It’s almost like an extension of his arm at this point. He’s learned more in three days than he has in months. 
> 
> Lucky for him, the palace has a nice hot tub, so he’s relaxing with Jaemin, letting his muscles catch a break.

They head to Yangzhu. 

Like Doyoung and his boyfriends, Taeyong, his boyfriends, and Jaehyun agree to meet Dream there. Chenle’s ship can barely fit seven people, much less eleven. 

The flight to Yangzhu is short. But as they approach the coordinates, Jisung finds himself confused. All he sees is a large purple, blue, and pink nebula. 

It’s massive, the size of a very large star. 

Chenle flies straight towards it. He doesn’t even hesitate, entering the nebula. 

Then Jisung sees it, a large blue and green planet, in the center of the nebula. 

They fly towards the largest of the green masses, entering the atmosphere. As they get closer, Jisung sees a city even larger than the Välde city. There are smaller towns and villages scattered around the rest of the landmass. 

It reminds him more of the Nadrian city, instead of a large castle at the far end of the city, there is instead a rather large building in the center of the city. 

It’s glorious. The entire city is in a bluish-green hue, with tall skyscrapers covered in only windows, and loads of parks with tall, luscious trees. There’s a lively energy to it, people walking on the streets, talking and laughing. Unlike Nadria, there aren’t vehicles flying in the air, only on the ground. The streets are alive with life while the air is clear, save for the ‘air train system’ (as Chenle called it) covering the city. 

Jisung loves it, he loves every second of it. Looking at the ground as they weave between buildings, Jisung sees all sorts of humans and aliens, all different species with all different colors of hair and skin, with horns and tails and wings. It’s incredible. Jisung has never seen so many species at once. 

“Woah,” Jisung mumbles. Chenle giggles. 

“Never been to a big city, Jisungie?”

Jisung’s cheeks flush, “I have, this one is just …” 

“It really is something, isn’t it?” Chenle says. He flies towards the large building in the center of the city, landing on a landing pad to the side of it. 

“This is convenient,” he says, parking the ship. 

Jisung walks out of the ship in awe. The buildings are miles high and the vehicles in the street—cars, Chenle called them—honk loudly at one another. 

He’s so busy looking up, he doesn’t see someone walking towards him. 

“Watch it!” 

Jisung stumbles back as someone pushes past him, a man with two curly horns and a rat’s tail. He glares at Jisung but doesn’t stop walking. 

He’s caught by Chenle, who laughs brightly. “That’s the city for you, Sungie.” 

“Come on, let’s go inside.” He moves his hand down to grab Jisung’s, gently tugging him around the ship and after the others, who are already walking up the steps of the large, futuristic building. 

The building can only be described as a palace, with one large peak in the center and four large peaks at each corner. They’re greeted by guards as they walk up the steps, entering through two large double doors. 

The room they walk into is huge, and Jisung looks around in awe. The floor has gold, white, and blue tile, and in the center of the room is a very large statue of a star in a large gold circle, balanced on a thin pyramid. 

“That’s the symbol of peace,” Jaemin says as they get closer. Jisung can see two intertwined hands engraved on the pyramid. 

“And what you’re looking at is the center of the universe,” A feminine voice comes from the right of them. 

“Your majesties,” Jeno says, eyes widening. He drops to a bow. The rest of them follow. There are two women standing in front of them, each dressed in royal attire. They both look human, except the woman on the right has pointed ears. 

“Oh, please, none of that,” the woman on the right says, waving her hand. 

“It’s wonderful to meet the misfits who have broken into the Välde castle twice.” 

“Your Majesty, how did you hear of that?” Jaemin asks carefully, standing straight up. 

“Just call me Seulgi, and my wife Joohyun. No need for formalities.” 

Chenle smiles. “Thank you. It’s an honor to meet you.” 

“Ah, the Defender,” Seulgi smiles. “I could say the same to you, boy, you’ve done quite a bit for the people of the universe.”

“It’s been my pleasure.” Chenle bows slightly again with a bright smile on his face. 

Jisung doesn’t think he’s ever heard Chenle talk so formally. 

“We have matters to discuss, let’s head back to one of the meeting rooms,” Joohyun says. She and Seulgi turn around, waving for Dream to follow them.

“Holy shit! We just met queens!” Chenle whispers excitedly to Jisung. 

“They’re so cool,” Jisung whispers. To be the queens of such a large kingdom. 

They follow the pair down the hall and up a staircase, then down the hall a bit further and into a room on the right. 

There are three other women in the room, already seated at a large table. In the center of the table is a holographic map, half of which shows space. 

The first woman has white hair and oddly-shaped pupils. Her nails are long and black, and the darkness seems to bleed onto her hands. She wears dark red lipstick. 

The second woman is about Renjun’s height, and taller than everyone else they’ve met so far. She appears to be human. 

The third woman has a rather youthful face, her hair is brown with blond ends. She has branch-like antlers protruding from her temple.

Dream take their seats at the table. Chenle sits in the center, Jaemin on one side and Jisung on the other. Joohyun and Seulgi take seats off to the side. 

“So you, blue hair, you’re Epocian,” The white-haired woman says. 

“We could use your smarts. I’m Seungwan.” 

“This is Sooyoung,” she points to the tall woman, “and this is Yerim.” 

“You’re a pilot,” Sooyoung says, staring at Chenle. 

Chenle grins widely. “That I am.” 

“And he’s a stupid one,” Jeno huffs. 

Chenle shoots him a dirty look, while Jeno simply laughs. 

“You did try to fly after getting shot,” Jisung mumbles. 

Chenle glares at him, too, but Jisung can tell there’s no heat to it. 

“Determined, I see, that’s admirable,” Sooyoung says. “I am the chief military officer when it comes to space. Seungwan deals with ground, and Yerim is our spymaster. She’s been training and sending spies into the Välde for years.” Yerim gives a close-lipped smile, nodding. “But not one of them managed to get the piece of information you managed to obtain. How did you know the invasion would be when it was?”

Chenle gulps. “Mark used to work for the empire, for the chief military officers.” 

“I see,” Sooyoung says. 

“We’ll need a plan.” 

“I think we should split up,” Jaemin says, immediately after Sooyoung finishes speaking. 

“We should send a small group in to face the emperor, then split up pilots and ground force.” 

Sooyoung smiles.

“I like the way you think, Na Jaemin.” 

* * *

Jisung isn’t quite sure how he ended up a part of the group that’s to enter the emperor’s ship. 

He blames Donghyuck, who strongly advocated for Jisung being a good fighter despite having only trained a little. 

They spent hours in the meeting room. At some point after they arrived, Taeyong and Doyoung joined them, both being prominent battle strategists. They had a plan. 

They’re three days out from the battle and Jisung is training. He’s gotten his ass handed to him by Yerim, Donghyuck, Jaehyun, Chenle, Mark, Sooyoung, Doyoung, Yuta, and Seulgi more times than he can fucking count. 

His entire body aches from training, but he’s getting better for sure. He’s gotten significantly more comfortable with his sword. It’s almost like an extension of his arm at this point. He’s learned more in three days than he has in months. 

Lucky for him, the palace has a nice hot tub, so he’s relaxing with Jaemin, letting his muscles catch a break. 

“How’s training, Ji?” Jaemin asks. Jisung just groans in response. 

Jaemin laughs brightly. “That bad huh?” Jisung nods, sinking further into the water. 

Three days, just three days and everything will be over. 

“How’s the planning going?” Jisung asks. 

“It’s going well. There’s a lot to plan.” 

While many of them are training, Jaemin is a part of the group that’s been spending all of their time coming up with plans, working out every possibility, every kink. 

“I’m sure of it.” 

“Room for one more?” Renjun asks from behind them. 

Renjun has been helping train soldiers in basic first aid. There aren’t enough medics to cover the sky and ground, so soldiers are being taught what to do in case of emergency. 

“Sure, come on in,” Jaemin says, waving his hand. Renjun slips into the water next to Jisung. 

“That’s real nice,” Renjun sighs. 

“Where are the others? I swear you and Chenle are joined at the hip,” Renjun remarks. 

“Mark’s talking with Seungwan in some weird language I can’t speak,” Jaemin informs. 

“Chenle’s taking a shower, he said he might join us afterwards,” Jisung says. 

Renjun raises an eyebrow. “Doesn’t that defeat the point of showering? I mean I guess chlorine is clean, but don’t you shower after getting in a pool or hot tub?”

“Chenle’s been pretty stressed since we landed here, is he alright?” Jaemin asks, concerned. 

Jisung sighs. “I’m not sure. Everyone’s expecting him to take out the emperor. I can’t imagine the pressure on him.” 

Jaemin hums. “Make sure to take care of him.” 

Jisung nods. “I will.” He sinks further into the water. 

The door to the pool area opens, and a bright orange head pokes through the crack. 

“Jiji?” Chenle calls tentatively. 

He sounds off. Jisung quickly stands, nodding to Renjun and Jaemin. He grabs his towel, drying himself off as he walks over to Chenle. 

“Hey, Lele,” Jisung greets. Chenle gives him a weak smile. 

Chenle reaches out, grabbing Jisung’s hand. 

“Let’s head back to our room?” Chenle says quietly. Something’s very off. 

Jisung nods, lacing his fingers with Chenle’s. He slips on his shoes and follows Chenle down the hall to their shared room. 

Seulgi and Joohyun were kind enough to give all of them rooms, letting them stay in the palace instead of in the hangar on Chenle’s ship. 

Jisung and Chenle have a rather nice room to themselves, with one large bed in the center, a bathroom off to the side, and a large dresser. There are also bedside tables. 

The bed reminds him of the one at the Välde castle, except instead of blood-red sheets, this one has a nice white and blue fluffy comforter. 

Jisung likes the palace. It has an entire set of practice arenas in the basement, a pool and a hot tub, enough rooms for all of Dream and 127, and a very large kitchen. The chefs make all sorts of foods Jisung has never tried before. His favorite is this weird wheat product called ‘spaghetti.’

They reach their room quickly—considering it’s down two flights of stairs. Chenle unlocks the door, yawning cutely as he does. 

As they slip their shoes off, entering the room, Chenle’s shoulders slump. He walks over to the bed, plopping down on it. 

“Lele? Are you okay?” Jisung asks. He walks over to the drawers, grabbing a change of clothes. 

Chenle nods, looking down at his feet. Jisung immediately feels protective. 

“I’m gonna go change and then we can talk,” he says nervously, stepping into the bathroom. 

He changes and brushes his teeth quickly, exiting the bathroom. 

“What’s up, baby?” Jisung asks. The pet name rolls off his tongue before he can stop it, and his cheeks burn once he realizes what he said. 

Chenle turns, smiling. “Did you just call me baby?” he asks, patting the space next to him. 

“Maybe.” Jisung’s cheeks are on fire. 

“You’re cute,” Chenle says.

Jisung walks around the bed, taking a seat next to Chenle. Chenle’s face drops to a frown. He slumps against Jisung, who wraps his arm around Chenle. He’s reminded of the time on the staircase, after Chenle was shot. 

“I can’t do it,” Chenle whispers. “I just can’t.” 

“I can’t kill someone, I can’t best the emperor in battle.” His voice breaks. 

Jisung is so grateful that Chenle trusts him enough to be so vulnerable around him. 

Jisung pulls him closer. “You won’t be alone. I’ll be there with you, and Donghyuck.” 

Chenle just shakes his head. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I know you’re a strong fighter, but I still wish they didn’t put you on the mission.” 

Jisung shifts uncomfortably. “I know, but I’ll be safe, Lele, I’ll be careful.” 

“You know I can’t help but worry about you, even if you’ve grown up so much from that boy I took off Vesnia,” Chenle mumbles, leaning further into Jisung. 

“Jisung, can you promise me something?” Chenle asks quietly. 

“Depends on what it is.” 

Chenle sighs. “You’re gonna say no,” he grumbles. 

“If it gets too dangerous, or if our lives are in danger, and you staying for me would mean you die, I want you to leave. Run, run away. Save yourself.”

Jisung turns and looks Chenle in the face. There are tears in his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, Lele, but I can’t agree to that.” 

Chenle gives him a defeated look. “Jisungie, please, I can’t lose you.” 

“Well, I can’t lose you either! I won’t just leave you. I didn’t when the pirates tazed you and sure fucking won’t when we’re facing the emperor. I love you far too much.” 

Tears well in Chenle’s eyes. “I just want you to be safe,” he whispers. 

Jisung wraps his other arm around Chenle, tucking the other boy’s head into his shoulder. Chenle trembles in Jisung’s arms. 

“I promised myself I would protect you but I’ve failed so many times,” Chenle cries. 

“No you didn’t. I’m still here and in one piece, aren’t I?” 

Chenle shakes his head. He presses a hand on Jisung’s abdomen, right where he got shot. 

“You got shot, you got taken by your parents twice, you had to deal with the pirates yourself, and just—” 

“Lele, shut up.” 

Chenle stops talking, instead Jisung hears quiet sobs. 

“Oh, Chenle,” Jisung says quietly. He rubs Chenle’s back with his hand. 

“I’m so scared, Jisung,” he cries, “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I don’t think it’ll go well.” 

Jisung gently shushes him. “It’ll be okay, Lele.” He scooches back from the edge of the bed, coaxing Chenle into his lap so he can hold him tighter. 

“How do you know?” Chenle sniffles, climbing into his lap and gripping Jisung’s shirt tightly. 

Jisung gulps. 

“It has to be.”


	24. The Med Tent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renjun really should mention, he hates his job. 
> 
> He hates it. He loves it, but he hates it. He loves helping people, it’s his favorite part. 
> 
> But he hates it. He hates the pain on people’s faces, he hates the blood on his gloved hands, he hates the screams when people come in. He hates the fear that if he fucks up, he could kill someone. He hates when he loses someone. 
> 
> But he pushes these thoughts away. He has a job.

Renjun is bandaging an injured soldier's leg when a familiar voice calls his name. 

Renjun really should mention, he hates his job. 

He hates it. He loves it, but he hates it. He loves helping people, it’s his favorite part. 

But he hates it. He hates the pain on people’s faces, he hates the blood on his gloved hands, he hates the screams when people come in. He hates the fear that if he fucks up, he could kill someone. He hates when he loses someone. 

But he pushes these thoughts away. He has a job. 

When Mark calls his name, walking into the medical tent with Jeno’s arm slung around his shoulder, Renjun hates his job more than ever. 

Legally, he isn’t supposed to work on patients he knows personally, much less dates, but this isn’t really a monitored practice inside the medical tent. Renjun has chatted with all the other medics personally, he knows he’s the most qualified. 

“Oh, Jen, what the fuck did you do to yourself?” Renjun says, finishing bandaging the soldier’s leg. The soldier thanks him and slips off the table. 

Jeno doesn’t say anything. He is the palest Renjun’s ever seen. 

Mark basically carries him over, and Renjun helps him move Jeno onto the table. 

“Hey, baby,” Jeno says weakly. 

“Shut the fuck up, save your strength,” Renjun says. His gentle tone doesn’t match his words. 

Renjun’s hands are shaking as he grabs the needle with anaesthetic from the tray table behind him.

Luckily, he was hit with a blaster and not a bullet, meaning the wound self-cauterized. Renjun takes a deep breath. He has to do this. 

He works quickly, cleaning every part of the wound, until it’s fresh. Then he sews Jeno up, willing his hands to be steadier. 

Why does he keep having to patch up his friends? 

Fucking dumbasses. 

He sews Jeno up quickly, putting salve on the wound after he ties off the last stitch. 

He finally allows himself to sit back in his chair after bandaging it, retracting his glasses and slipping off his gloves. 

“Thank you, Renjun.” Mark takes a seat next to Jeno, who’s still unconscious. 

“It’s my pleasure,” he says. He feels like crying. 

Mark fixes him with an odd stare, to which Renjun gives a weak smile. 

Mark walks over to Renjun. He opens his arms. 

“C’mere,” Mark says. Renjun stands, falling into Mark’s open arms without a second’s hesitation. 

Mark is warm, his hug tight and secure, and Renjun does feel a little bit better. Mark hugs differently than Jeno or Donghyuck, or even Chenle. Renjun is glad for this. He’s pretty sure if Mark hugged like Jeno he would start crying. 

“How is it out there?” Renjun asks as they pull apart. He takes his seat once again. 

“It’s ugly, that's for sure,” Mark says, grimacing. 

Yikes. 

“Do you think we’re gonna win?” Renjun asks anxiously. 

Mark makes a face. “I’m not sure, I can’t say.” 

He sighs, standing. “I should get back out there.” 

Renjun nods. “If I see you before this is over, and it’s not to visit Jeno, I’ll smack you into next week,” he threatens.

Mark chuckles. “Sounds good, Renjunnie.” 

Mark leaves the tent with a wave. 

Renjun drops back down in his seat. He reaches over, taking Jeno’s hand. 

He really needs a breather. The tent smells like blood, death and cleaners. Renjun, once again, hates it. He truly does. He hates the smell of death more than anything on this planet. It means failure. It means someone died under his hands. 

Renjun just prays that, with how many soldiers are being brought into this tent, the air force team is doing better. He prays that Donghyuck, Jisung, and Chenle are able to complete their mission. 

To end it all.

He also prays he doesn’t see Donghyuck’s wretched face in this goddam tent. He thinks he might genuinely lose it if he has to stitch up both his boyfriends in the same day. If that’s the case, he’s never letting them out of his sight again. 

“Jun?” A weak voice calls to him. 

“Jeno.” Renjun hurries over to his side. 

“How do you feel?” He asks, squeezing his hand. 

“Like I’ve been shot in the leg.” Jeno grins. 

“No fucking shit, Einstein. You asshole, what the fuck?” he whispers angrily. 

“I’m sorry, baby, I promise I won’t do that again,” Jeno says sincerely. Renjun hums, kissing Jeno briefly. 

“How’s Donghyuck doing? Have you contacted him?” 

Renjun shakes his head. 

“Not yet, I’m hoping he’s fine.” 

“Me too.” 

* * *

Jisung watches in horror as the emperor’s sword enters Donghyuck’s side. 

That was absolutely not part of the plan. 

The plan was simple, they were flown up to the emperor’s ship by Taeyong and Doyoung, who would help them enter. Then, after entering the ship, they were to head to the largest room on the far end of the ship, which is where the emperor was to be residing. 

They got there with little to no issues, pushing open the double doors after an eerily peaceful walk through the ship. It’s almost as if the Välde wanted them to reach the door. 

They had an agreement, a plan. It was simple: Donghyuck would fight the emperor while Jisung and Chenle took care of the guards. They took care of the guards quickly, what with the guards’ poor aim. 

Then they watched the battle. Both sides moved quick as lightning. Donghyuck made a jab to the side only for it to be caught before Jisung even registered where the emperor’s sword was. 

The emperor wielded a large, broad, double-sided sword. He wielded it well, too. The emperor is only a bit taller than Jisung himself, except he’s much broader. 

Donghyuck spent most of the fight on the defensive. The emperor was ruthless, striking at Donghyuck’s neck, his side, aiming for his heart. Jisung was terrified, and he wanted to intervene, but Chenle’s hand on his sleeve was holding him back. 

Donghyuck would strike and it would get caught. The emperor would swipe and swipe faster than Jisung could keep track of. 

First the emperor landed a hit on Donghyuck’s arm, leaving a long gash up his bicep. Donghyuck stumbled, but caught himself. 

Then the emperor stabbed him in the side. 

“Donghyuck!” Jisung screams. He yanks his sleeve from Chenle’s grip, running over as the emperor brings his sword down. 

He catches it with his own just in time, saving Donghyuck from an untimely death. 

The emperor glares at him, pressing with his own sword. 

“Chenle,” Jisung calls, motioning towards Donghyuck with his head. Chenle, who was frozen with a fearful expression on his face, takes the hint. He runs over and grabs Donghyuck by the armpits, dragging him over to the wall. 

The emperor pushes against Jisung’s sword. Jisung takes a step back, then lets their swords go. The emperor stands to his full height. Jisung prepares his stance, raising his sword. 

The emperor swings first. Jisung catches his blade in the center between them. The emperor brings his blade up and around, swinging it towards Jisung’s ankles. Jisung moves his sword just in time, meeting him there. 

He hears a shout from next to him. Chenle, with Donghyuck’s luxtro, swings towards the emperor. 

The emperor brings his sword up, hard, knocking Jisung off his feet. He catches Chenle’s blade with the opposite end of his sword.

Jisung stands hurriedly, stepping back and preparing his stance again. He swings at the emperor. The emperor grabs the center of his sword with his free hand and pulls it apart at the center. 

He now has two swords. 

He catches Jisung’s swing with ease, and Jisung tries to maintain control as their swords press against one another. The emperor brings his sword down, forcing Jisung to yank his hand back. 

At the same time, the emperor arcs his other sword around, jabbing at Chenle, who jumps back just in time. 

The emperor swings at Jisung’s neck. Jisung lets out a yell, catching the sword just in time. Taking advantage of the emperor’s shift in focus, Chenle jabs Donghyuck’s sword forward, grazing the emperor’s shoulder. 

The emperor roars, stumbling backwards. 

Jisung briefly makes eye contact with him. His eyes are red. 

He isn’t human. 

The emperor brings both his swords down again. His sword meets Chenle’s in the middle with a loud shriek. 

At the same time, the emperor’s other sword collides with Jisung’s. The emperor brings his sword around in a large arc, sweeping under him and knocking Jisung off his feet. 

Jisung’s sword clatters out of his grip. He scrambles over to grab it, rolling out of the way as the emperor brings his sword down. 

The emperor takes advantage of Jisung’s brief absence, swinging both swords down towards Chenle. Chenle manages to catch them with his own. 

Then the emperor lifts his foot, stomping the ground. A rush of air flows from the impact, sending Chenle flying back. He hits the wall and crumples.

“Chenle!” Jisung shouts. What the fuck was that? How did the emperor send Chenle flying into the wall with just one stomp of the foot?

Jisung doesn’t have time to ponder it. He scrambles to his feet, grabbing his sword again. He readies his stance. 

The emperor brings both his swords down in the same arc, allowing Jisung to easily catch them with his own. Then he brings one sword back, moving to strike at him again. Jisung pushes their swords to the side, so that the emperor’s sword hits Jisung’s before it’s able to Jisung. 

He lifts one sword and brings it high around in an arc, aiming for Jisung’s neck. Jisung quickly ducks. His sword is trapped between both of the emperor’s. 

The emperor cackles. Jisung tries to pull his sword back, but he moves too late. The emperor twists each of his swords, grabbing Jisung’s with the two of them and yanking his sword out of his grip. It clatters to the ground, near the opposite wall. 

Jisung sprints over to it, only for his legs to be taken out from under him again. 

He lands painfully on his front. Jisung rolls over and pushes himself backwards, closer to his sword and away from the emperor. 

He has no weapon. His sword is too far and the emperor is approaching. 

Then he remembers. 

He has a knife in his boot, the one Chenle gave him so many weeks ago. 

He pushes himself to his feet, kicking the knife up from his boot and into his hand. He chucks it, watching it spin and land right in the emperor’s shoulder. 

The emperor roars. Before Jisung can celebrate his small victory, or even react, the emperor brings one of his swords down, slashing across Jisung’s chest. 

Jisung falls to the ground with a shout, landing on his back. His chest feels like it’s on fire. He screws his eyes shut. Pain spreads across his body, and he has to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid screaming. 

He forces his eyes open again and weakly tries to push himself back. The emperor raises his swords, about to bring them down and filet Jisung. 

The emperor freezes. He arches back, trying to turn around. 

Chenle steps out from behind him, his knife luxtro in hand. 

The emperor roars in pain, dropping to his knees. He slumps over, falling on his side. He groans in pain. Chenle stabbed him in the back. 

Chenle takes his blaster from his belt, stunning him. 

“Take that, asshole,” Chenle spits. 

He turns to Jisung, orange hair all over the place. 

“Jisung, what the fuck.” He runs over, dropping onto his knees next to him. His hands ghost over the gash, which has luckily self-cauterized, so it isn’t bleeding. 

“Hi, Lele,” Jisung says quietly. His chest hurts like hell. 

“You dummy,” Chenle whispers. “You better not die on me.” 

Jisung smiles weakly. “I won’t, it’s just a scratch.” 

Chenle scoffs. “Are you joking? Jisung, that is a little bit worse than a scratch!” 

“Lele, I’ll be fine.” 

“You better be,” Chenle says, taking Jisung’s head in his hands and placing it on his lap. “I’ll kill you if you die on me,” Chenle jokes, but a tear drips down his face. 

“Don’t cry, idiot,” Jisung says as Chenle’s shoulders begin to shake. 

“I failed to protect you again.” 

“No you didn’t, you just saved my life.” Jisung puts his hand on Chenle’s cheek. 

“Chenle, if you keep crying I’m gonna cry, so cut it out,” Jisung says. 

Chenle sniffles, smiling. 

“I’m so glad it’s over.” 

“Me too, Lele.” 

The doors to the room burst open. Chenle places Jisung’s head down and stands in an instant, wielding his knife. 

Until he sees that it’s Doyoung and Taeyong. 

“Is everyone o—Woah.” Doyoung interrupts himself, seeing the emperor keeled over, unconscious on the ground, while Chenle stands, knife brandished. 

Taeyong runs over to Donghyuck, who’s still by the wall, unmoving. 

“Oh dear,” he says. He scoops Donghyuck in his arms, holding him close to his chest. 

Doyoung hurries over to Chenle and Jisung. 

“Jisung, you okay?” He asks, kneeling next to him. Jisung nods, smiling weakly. 

“Just a scratch, Doyoung.” 

Doyoung snorts. “Just a scratch, my ass. Jisung, you need to get that sewn up A.S.A.P.”

Jisung laughs slightly, before screwing his face up in pain. 

“Nevermind, no laughing for Jisung,” Jisung says, groaning. 

His chest has become numb with pain. He’s starting to feel lightheaded. 

“Chenle, you think you can carry him to the ship?” Doyoung asks, turning to Chenle. He mumbles something about dealing with the emperor. 

Chenle nods, sheathing his knife. He kneels, scooping Jisung up in his arms. 

Jisung winces as Chenle jostles the wound. 

“Sorry, honey,” Chenle apologizes, kissing him on the forehead.

Suddenly Jisung doesn’t mind so much. 

They make their way out of the room. The fire in Jisung’s chest only grows hotter. Black spots dance in his vision. 

“Just hold on, Jiji, we’ll get you sewn up and painkillers in you soon,” Chenle whispers, jogging through the halls. 

Jisung nods as everything fades out. His world goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry this is a day late!! one more chapter woo!!


	25. Dear Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So now where?” Donghyuck asks as they board the ship. 
> 
> "Wherever things take us, I guess," Chenle replies.

Jisung ends up with a long scar across his chest. 

It pairs quite nicely with the scar on his abdomen. He doesn’t mind it, he feels really cool. 

Chenle doesn’t like it as much as he does. He grumbles about Jisung being an idiot and getting injured and failing to protect him and blah blah blah. Jisung usually just takes it upon himself to shut Chenle up with a kiss before he goes into another self-deprecating spiral. 

Renjun was infuriated when he saw them, according to Jeno, who was already in the medics’ tent with an injured leg. 

Jeno said Renjun sewed up Jisung just fine, but when it came to Donghyuck he broke down. Another qualified personnel had to do the job instead. Nobody blames him, and Donghyuck was okay, so everything worked out. 

They threw the emperor in jail in the highest security prison in the western quadrant. 

Välde is annexed by Yangzhu as a form of tributary state until the heir to the throne is found. The rest of the empire crumbles. Villages and towns and civilizations regain their autonomy. 

They bid farewell to Seulgi and the others, boarding Chenle’s ship yet again. 

“So now where?” Donghyuck asks as they board the ship. 

Everyone is back in their usual seats. Mark and Jaemin on one bench, Jeno, Renjun and Donghyuck on the other one. 

They’ve come pretty far, if Jisung says so himself, from the first time he met Jeno and Jaemin. What a memory. They’ve gotten to be pretty close considering the way Jeno had a gun to Jaemin’s head all those weeks ago. 

“Jiji? You ready?” Chenle asks from the pilot seat. Jisung nods. 

“Alright, losers,” Chenle says, “let’s get this show on the road.”

Chenle starts up the ship, launching them into space. 

“Chenle, what does that mean?” Jisung asks. 

Chenle shrugs. “No idea, it’s some Earth phrase.”

They exit the atmosphere rather quickly. 

“Bye, Yangzhu,” Donghyuck says, dropping his head onto Jeno’s shoulder. 

They spent about two weeks in Yangzhu before leaving, and while Jisung’s wound—being rather shallow—healed rather quickly, Donghyuck is still in need of painkillers, leaving him the slightest bit loopy. 

Jisung also got to explore the city with Chenle. They took a couple days to themselves, just walking around, looking at stores and meeting new people. They sat on a park bench and people-watched, creating life stories for strangers. They tried all sorts of foods and laughed at each other when it was too spicy or too sour. They held hands and walked through the streets, going into shops and trying on ridiculous clothes. 

Jisung had never experienced anything like it. It was so much fun. They would get back from a long day and hang out in the pool or the hot tub or the palace’s game room with the rest of Dream, who were in various stages of healing and activity. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about in that big head of yours, Jiji?” Chenle asks, knocking Jisung from his thoughts. 

Jisung just hums, unsure of how to respond. 

“Hey, Chenle, where are we going?” Jeno asks. 

“Well,” Chenle starts. He presses the autopilot button then turns his chair around. 

“I was hoping we could stop by my home planet, Iiche,” Chenle says, fiddling with his fingers. 

“It should be vacant of the Välde by now, and I had to leave it a really long time ago.” 

Jeno looks surprised, but then smiles softly. “That sounds nice.” 

Chenle relaxes with his approval, smiling back. 

“Great.” He pulls down the hyperspace lever. 

They hop into hyperspace smoothly. Jisung still isn’t used to the feeling of being pressed into his seat, barely able to move forward. He really doesn’t know how he leapt out of his seat that one time. 

They exit it just as smoothly, much to everyone’s relief. Except Donghyuck and Renjun—they were lucky enough to have missed that entire debacle. 

They approach a red planet, one that looks similar to Jisung’s home planet in climate. Hot and dry. 

But as they get closer, Jisung is surprised to see trees and a village surrounded by grass. There are crops growing, real crops, not just cacti and beets. 

They land on the outskirts of the village, right next to a field of flowers. 

“Okay, so.” Chenle turns his chair around. “My village is called Acadia. It’s a human village, so don’t be surprised if they’re shocked to see some of you.” He looks at Mark. 

“Let’s also be careful. I don’t want to traumatize any villagers, so weapons away please,” Chenle requests. 

“But what if there are still Välde?” Donghyuck asks. 

“There won’t be. I asked Seulgi before we left.” 

Chenle takes a deep breath. 

“Will you be okay?” Jisung asks, concerned. Chenle looks nervous. It’s weird to see. Jisung rarely sees Chenle nervous. 

“Hey, Chenle,” Donghyuck says, “why didn’t you come here before? As the Defender?”

Chenle freezes. 

“Donghyuck,” Renjun hisses, elbowing his boyfriend in the side. 

“I didn’t think I’d,” he gestures with his hands, seemingly at a loss for words, “be able to.” 

“I left right after my parents died, my last memory here is of them being killed,” Chenle says, tone bitter.

Donghyuck grimaces. “I understand how you feel, the Välde took mine as well.” 

“They took Jaemin’s entire species, they took my wings, they took Jeno’s brother—” 

Renjun cuts himself off. 

“It was getting depressing,” he says when Mark raises an eyebrow at him. 

Chenle is still looking at his feet. Jisung reaches over and slips his hand into Chenle’s. He squeezes. Chenle looks up at him, smiling. 

“You’ve got this, Chenle, it’ll be fine,” Jeno says. He walks over and pats Chenle on the back. 

“We’ve got your back,” Renjun says, smiling softly. 

Chenle takes a deep breath. “Right, let’s do this.” 

Jisung squeezes Chenle’s hand and the pair make their way off the ship. The air is fresh, and Jisung can’t help but walk over and sniff the nearby flowers. They smell fresh as well. 

“It’s beautiful here,” Chenle says, looking up at the sky. There are two suns high up in the sky, nearby one another. 

It really is beautiful; the large, wobbly trees around the village, the grass and the flowers. It’s warm, like Jisung expected, but not too hot. 

Chenle leans down, picking a yellow flower. He places it gingerly behind Jisung’s ear. 

“There you go.” Chenle smiles. “It looks nice with your pink hair.” 

Unable to help himself, Jisung leans down, pressing a kiss to Chenle’s cheek. 

“Thanks, cutie.” The pet name slips out. Jisung’s cheeks burn, but Chenle just coos, reaching up and patting his cheek. 

“Hey, lovebirds, you done?” Renjun asks, hand on his hip. 

Chenle nods. “Yep!” 

They make their way over to the village, which is teeming with life. 

Children run through the streets, chasing a ball or a brown, funky-looking creature with a beak and two legs. There are street vendors selling food and supplies, people walking the streets. 

Jisung looks over at Chenle to see his boyfriend has tears in his eyes. 

The village seems to freeze as they get closer. The ball rolls away from the children, who look up at him in fear. The lady buying fruits freezes mid-transaction. A tall man walking through the streets, hand in hand with another, stops. 

Said tall man walks tentatively closer. 

“Chenle?” He asks. 

“Chenle!” a woman yells. The village comes alive with shouts. 

“Chenle’s back!” The tall man runs towards Chenle, engulfing him in a hug. 

“Hi, Jun,” Chenle says, voice muffled. 

Jun releases Chenle to grip his shoulders. ”Chenle, we’ve missed you so much! It’s been eight years, we were so worried when you left. How are you doing? I know you and your mother were especially close.” 

Chenle doesn’t say anything at first, and for a moment Jisung is worried he’ll start crying. But then Chenle lights up, a bright smile on his face. 

“Jun, we did it! The Välde are gone and we travelled all through space and we kept getting captured and attacked and I’ve broken people out of prison twice and—oh! This is Jisung.” Chenle pulls himself from Jun’s grip, running over and grabbing Jisung by the arm. 

“This is Jisung! My boyfriend!” 

A nearby elderly woman gasps. “Oh, my sweet Lele. Look at you, saving the galaxy and dating already.” She hobbles over to them, reaching over and pinching Chenle’s cheeks. 

“It’s good to see you, Gramma.” 

“She’s your grandma?” Jisung whispers. 

Chenle shakes his head. “No, but she’s the oldest lady in our village so everyone calls her Gramma.” Jisung nods. 

“Chenle, it’s so good to have you back,” the man next to Jun says, a soft smile on his face. 

“Thanks, Minghao,” Chenle says.

“Is my old house still around?” Chenle asks, peeking around Jun’s shoulder to look down the village streets. 

“Yeah,” Jun says. “My mom’s been taking care of it while you’ve been gone.” 

“Thank you.” Chenle gives a slight bow. 

Jun laughs. “No need for that, it was her pleasure.” 

“We all know what you’ve been off doing, Chenle, and we couldn’t be more proud. We’re sure your parents would have been proud of you too.” 

Instead of replying, Chenle simply tackles Jun in another hug. This time Minghao joins as well, rubbing Chenle’s back. 

“Come on,” Chenle says, pulling away. He sniffles lightly. “Let’s go to my house.” 

Chenle takes Jisung’s hand and waves on the others. He bids goodbye to Jun and Minghao, promising to visit. 

They walk down the street, making a couple turns here and there, until they reach a rather small house at the edge of town. 

Chenle walks up to the door, pushing it open. 

The house is, of course, empty, but it doesn’t feel empty. There’s a warmth to it. There are baby pictures on the mantel over the fireplace, and on the kitchen island. 

Jisung goes to pick one up. 

There’s a tiny baby with a tuft of flaming orange hair right in the front of his head. He’s being held by a woman with black hair, wrapped in a white bundle. The woman looks kind, and she has the most loving look on her face. She has to be Chenle’s mother. 

Chenle places a hand on his shoulder, leaning on him.

“That’s my mother,” he says. 

“And that.” He picks up another photo. The same orange-haired baby is a little older now, a toddler, sitting up in his father’s arms. His father has dark red hair and is clearly in the middle of laughing. Tiny Chenle has a great smile on his face, one that matches the smile Chenle wears all the time. 

“Is my father.” Chenle has a sad smile on his face. So Jisung turns, pulling Chenle into a hug, rubbing his back. Chenle sighs, relaxing in his arms. 

“Nice place you got here, Lele!” Jeno says loudly. 

“I didn’t know you had plums on this planet but the nice lady next door gave me some,” Donghyuck says. 

“Donghyuck, did you seriously ask the lady next door for food?” Mark asks. 

Donghyuck shrugs. “She had a plum tree on her front lawn, of course I was gonna ask for one!” 

Chenle and Jisung let go of each other and turn to see the rest of their friends barging into Chenle’s living room. 

“Donghyuck, you barbarian! Shoes off at the door,” he says to a plum-eating Donghyuck. Donghyuck freezes, backing up in his steps and slipping his shoes off. 

“Sorry, Lele, I’m still not used to these shoes.” 

“I always forget Nadrians don’t wear shoes ever,” Renjun comments, taking a seat on Chenle’s couch. 

“How does that work? In the city and all?” Jeno asks. He sits next to Renjun, throwing an arm around him. 

“Well, we aren’t used to the cities. When I grew up it was plenty green. The whole concept is becoming one with nature.” Donghyuck waves his hands around. 

“That’s similar to Epocian views, except with the water. That’s why I lived next to a giant lake.” 

“And you had your own cute little pond,” Jeno says. “That was so nice.”

“So, Chenle,” Jeno asks, wrapping his other arm around Donghyuck, who just sat down. 

“What’s next?” 

Chenle pulls Jisung to take a seat on the loveseat, while Mark and Jaemin sit on the floor. 

“Well,” Chenle begins, “I could always drop you guys back at your homes,” Chenle says. He keeps his face neutral, but Jisung can tell he’s upset. 

And Jisung would be lying if he said he wasn’t upset too. 

He doesn’t want to split up. 

“Oh please, Chenle, we don’t want to split up after all of this.”

Chenle’s face lights up in a grin. 

“Then let’s stay together as Dream.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fran here!
> 
> and it's over ;-; i cannot believe it's finally over <3 this fic was my baby for so long and now she's finally all posted. i hope you guys loved reading her just as much as i loved writing her. thank you all so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. i'm so happy so many of you stuck along with the story. love you all!
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)   
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